End Game
by chem prof
Summary: Continuation of Soul Searching. The horcruxes have been destroyed. The trio returns for their 7th year at Hogwarts to prepare for the final confrontation with Voldemort, with some romance to complicate things. Ship starts HG, ends ? may be HG, may be HHr
1. Return to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment. At least a few of the ideas in this story are original with me. If J. K. is interested in using them she's welcome to them.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee Weasley for prereading this chapter and offering helpful suggestions.

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**Introduction**

End Game is a continuation of Soul Searching, and takes place during Harry's seventh year at Hogwarts. If you haven't read Soul Searching yet, STOP RIGHT HERE AND GO READ IT NOW! Even if you have already read it, you might want to go back and reread it. If you're anything like me, you are reading quite a few fanfics concurrently, and sometimes it's hard to remember what happened in what story. Quite a few things that happened in Soul Searching will have a major effect on End Game.

In Soul Searching, the horcruxes were found and destroyed, all except for Nagini and the piece that still resides in Voldemort. Now the trio is returning to Hogwarts for their final year, and to prepare to kill Nagini and take on Voldemort himself. Much of their time will be spent in a waiting game, honing their fighting ability and developing their attack plan, while others do most of the fighting against Voldemort's forces. But as in Soul Searching, a large part will still be about relationships. Harry's relationships with all of his friends, especially Hermione and Ginny, will change as things are revealed that had been kept hidden.

Just to be absolutely clear about the relationships. This story is H/G at the beginning. It may stay that way or it may change to H/Hr. You'll have to read it to find out.

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**Chapter 1, Return to Hogwarts**

September 1

At first glance, Platform 9 ¾ looked much the same as it did every September first. The bright red locomotive sat puffing away, clouds of steam rising into the sky. Students were milling around, dragging trunks, greeting friends, saying goodbye to parents. Younger siblings whined and were shushed.

On closer inspection, though, it was clear that this year was different. The platform was not as crowded; there would be many fewer students on the train this year. The crowd was not as boisterous as in other years. Instead of running back and forth, eagerly checking up on their comrades the students huddled together in small groups. Two sets of questions dominated every conversation. _"Who's here? Who's not here?" _and_ "Is it really safe? Do you think there's going to be an attack?"_

There was a noticeable Auror presence on the platform as the Ministry was aware that this was a high profile target and was taking no chances. There was a less noticeable presence as well, visible only to the few who were in the know. The Order of the Phoenix was also here in force. Each time the barrier to the platform flared, conversation paused and everyone looked up, cataloging the new arrivals, mentally updating the 'coming back/not coming back' list as the newcomers scurried into the crowd seeking the safety of a cluster of students.

Once more the barrier flared, but this time there was a difference. Three students strode confidently through the barrier. There was no ducking, no cowering with this trio. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger had arrived. No longer the shy youngsters they had once been, wondering if anyone would befriend them, these three warriors had been in battle, seen death and dished it out, and emerged victorious. There was no fear in their eyes, but a wary, alert, yet commanding look as they glanced left and right and nodded to their fellow students.

With Harry in the center, Ron on the right, and Hermione on the left they swept down the platform, their initial serious expressions being replaced with smiles as they caught the eyes of particular friends and exchanged greetings. As they moved down the platform the silence was broken by gasps and murmurs among the older students as the effects of the summer workouts and increased confidence as well as – in one case – better fitting clothing became apparent. _"Has Weasley always been that tall?" "How come I never noticed him before?" "When did Potter become such a hunk?" "Is that really Granger?" "She never used to look that good, did she?"_

Hermione was dressed in designer jeans and a short sleeved knit top, both comfortably snug. Harry was wearing a dark pair of pants and a collared knit shirt that emphasized his noticeably bulked up torso. Ron had on jeans and a tee shirt, and all three had wand holders strapped to their legs, ready for instant use. They looked like nothing so much as a trio of gunslingers from the American west striding into town to clear out the bad guys.

Suddenly someone started clapping, then another and another, until the entire platform was applauding. Most of the students couldn't have explained why, but somehow everyone felt a little less apprehensive now about going back to Hogwarts. Despite McGonagall's assurances, the rumors had persisted that the Gryffindor trio would not be returning this year and more than one set of parents had struggled with the agonizing decision of whether their son or daughter would be better off staying home or going back.

Up until recently Harry would have been mortified by all this attention, but he knew that he had accepted a position of leadership for his school and he knew that this went with it. Fear was the enemy's greatest weapon and if his presence or his words could combat that fear everyone was better off. As they made their way to the center of the platform and the applause showed no sign of letting down he felt a squeeze in his left hand and turned to give Hermione a brief smile, then turned the other way to see Ron's grin.

Ron stepped forward and quickly levitated a couple of trunks into a makeshift stage, then motioned to Harry. Harry climbed up and turned and extended his hand to Hermione and helped her up as well, and the crowd quieted in anticipation.

Hermione, knowing how much Harry disliked attention, decided to go first. "Hello everyone. Thank you for that nice welcome. It's great to see all of you again. We're so glad you made the decision to return to Hogwarts this year. Harry and I have been working with the professors to make sure this will be a special year." She glanced at Harry and he nodded for her to continue.

"We all know that Hogwarts will be different now without Professor Dumbledore." A murmur went through the crowd at this. While surprised that she would refer directly to the tragic event that ended the prior year, many of those gathered appreciated her honesty in confronting the topic that was on everyone's mind.

"It's obvious that Professor McGonagall has a real challenge facing her in trying to live up to his legacy. But we feel that she has made some excellent choices and has put together a plan that will provide an outstanding educational experience for everyone. And we all intend to make sure that Hogwarts will be a secure learning environment. Hogwarts has long been considered the safest place in Britain and will remain so." She paused, and there were a lot of approving nods from parents.

Harry stepped in to continue. "You all know that I've had a few more adventures than the average student at Hogwarts." That line received quite a few chuckles from the older students and earned him a smile from Hermione and another squeeze of his hand. The onlookers relaxed a little. "After one of them Professor Dumbledore told me something that has greatly affected my life. He said that it is the choices that we make in life, not our abilities, that make us who we are. You all have made a choice to stand up to your fears. We thank you for making that choice, as hard as it may have been." He paused and looked around. There was complete silence on the platform as everyone pondered what he had said and the decisions they had made.

"The last thing I want to say to all of you is the same thing that Professor Dumbledore told the whole school right after Voldemort returned two years ago. The time has come to decide between doing what is right and what is easy. You have all decided to do what is right, and we will not let you down." This elicited even more applause from the assembled students and parents, along with many shouts of encouragement.

As the applause died down, Hermione noticed that two girls in particular were interested in something other than their words. Parvati and Lavender were huddled together whispering, and nodding at her and Harry. He had not let go of her hand after helping her up, and was still holding it. Hermione then did a very non-Hermione-like thing. Catching their eyes, she shot them a conspiratorial smile, followed by a quick wink. Parvati and Lavender's eyes went wide at this, and they returned the smile with a look that clearly said, _'you are going to tell us all about this later'_, then turned and started mingling with the other students. Hermione knew two things for certain. By the time the train reached Hogwarts, every student would know that something was going on between the Head Boy and Head Girl, and there would be an interrogation tonight in the Gryffindor girls dorm.

Spotting some red hair in the crowd, they hopped down from the trunks and joined Ron in heading over to the Weasleys. They were briefly detained as Hermione stopped to greet Carolyn and Mark and their parents, and Harry waved to Laura and Kristin. All four of them were muggleborn first years that they had met at the orientation session the previous week. He smiled as he noticed Laura standing back listening while Kristin chattered excitedly to some fellow first years about how they had already met the Head Boy and Head Girl.

Quite a few eyes were on them as they approached the Weasleys, some anticipating some fireworks from the girl who, last anyone there knew, was Harry's girlfriend. But those onlookers were disappointed as Hermione gave Ginny a welcoming hug while Molly did the same to Harry. Ginny handed Crookshanks back to Hermione and the older girl enthusiastically greeted the large half kneazel that she had been parted from during the summer. For his part, Crookshanks accepted the transition calmly, as though it was a simple matter of his exchanging one servant for another.

Molly then turned to give some last minute motherly instructions to Ron and Harry found himself face to face with Ginny. She gave him a knowing smile as they exchanged hugs as well, then her eyes went wide as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Friends are allowed to do that," he informed her with a twinkle in his eye, and she grinned back at him and returned the favor as he moved on to give a farewell handshake to Arthur.

Finally pulling themselves away from Molly, the four students continued through the crowd until they found themselves in front of the students Harry was looking for, the only three Slytherins who had returned for their seventh year.

Harry remembered Blaise Zabini from the Slug Club, and from his ill-fated attempt to sneak into the Slytherin compartment on the train the previous year. He was quite handsome, having inherited his looks from his famously beautiful mother, and supposedly had quite a way with the ladies. Daphne Greengrass was a statuesque blonde, gorgeous, with a knockout figure. _Ron's type_, Harry smirked to himself. Tracey Davis was about Hermione's size, with no-nonsense short dark hair and an alert look about her. He realized that he knew absolutely nothing about her, as he couldn't recall a single encounter with her in six years. None of them had been among their tormentors in Malfoy's gang, so that was a mark in their favor, although Zabini had reported to Malfoy about the initial Slug Club meeting.

"Hi Blaise. Daphne. Tracey," Harry said in a friendly tone, acknowledging each one in turn. Their uneasy looks lightened a little and they nodded, appreciating the effort he was making.

"Hi Harry, Hermione," responded Tracey, followed quickly by the others. "Congratulations on making Head Boy and Girl. Although there wasn't much doubt about Hermione, was there?"

Hermione smiled at the compliment, and they engaged in a little small talk before going their separate ways. Harry made an effort to keep his face neutral as he noticed the appreciative look Blaise was giving Ginny, and decided that they needed to find Neville as soon as possible.

A warning blast from the train's whistle signaled the students to begin boarding. One after the other a steady stream of parents hugged their children, waved them onto the train, then came over to shake Harry's hand and thank him for being there, the unspoken plea to keep their children safe lingering in every pair of eyes. He graciously responded to each one, thanking them in turn for entrusting their offspring to Hogwarts and reassuring them as well as he could. Finally the last student was loaded and the final trunk was stowed, and after glancing up and down the platform he and Hermione waved to the engineer and boarded the train.

The Head's compartment was considerably nicer than the ones on the rest of the Hogwarts Express, and quite a bit larger as well. Even so, it was crowded for the prefects meeting. Blaise and Tracey were the new seventh year prefects from Slytherin, with Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw, Hannah Abbott and Ernie MacMillan from Hufflepuff, and Ron from Gryffindor. Except for Blaise and Tracey of course, all had been members of the DA and this was the group that Harry and Hermione were hoping would take the lead in unifying the school. Harry didn't know any of the fifth and sixth year prefects except those from Gryffindor, and a few that had played quidditch, but Hermione had learned everyone's names and greeted them all as they arrived.

Hermione smoothly began the meeting with introductions and explained their expectations for the year. She informed them the prefects were primarily responsible for their own houses and were not going to be permitted to take points from other houses this year. This surprised her listeners, but after having gone through the abuse of the system by Malfoy and Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad they understood the reasoning for it. Harry added that if they found a situation involving members of other houses that required disciplinary action they should inform the head students or their Heads of Houses.

Next Hermione gave them advance notice of some of the things that McGonagall would be announcing at the Welcoming Feast about the changes being instituted to increase interhouse cooperation. Most of the prefects liked the idea of being able to get to know students from other houses better, and one of the fifth year Slytherins cracked that this would give Zabini a larger group of girls to date. Harry noticed several girls glance in his and Ron's direction, and a couple of Ravenclaw boys looked thoughtfully at Hermione.

Harry then explained how quidditch was going to be different this year, which really caught their attention. The idea of quidditch without house teams was difficult for them to grasp. Several of the guys immediately wanted to know which team Harry was going to play for.

They finished by dividing the castle into four zones for patrol purposes and assigning one house to each zone. They all crowded around the map that Hermione had made to see who had what part of the castle. It was quickly agreed that Hufflepuff had the greatest number of broom closets to check, Ravenclaw had the majority of the classrooms, Slytherin had more secret corridors to worry about, but Gryffindor got stuck with the Astronomy tower.

After the meeting ended Ron went to invite Ginny, Neville, and Luna to join them in the Heads' compartment but Tracey and Blaise hung back as the other prefects left.

"Potter," Blaise began, "I need to tell you something. I know what happened on the train last year after we left Slughorn's compartment." Harry glanced to Tracey and she nodded. Blaise had informed her of the incident in Malfoy's compartment. Blaise continued, "I want you to know that despite the fact that I hung around with Malfoy and said some things you probably didn't appreciate, I was never a supporter of You Know Who and neither were Tracey or Daphne.

Hermione moved to stand beside Harry. "We realize that. If you were a Voldemort supporter McGonagall would never have let you back into Hogwarts." Harry was concentrating on Blaise and Tracey's faces as Hermione said this, and as expected both flinched at the use of Voldemort's name, although Tracey's was almost unnoticeable.

Blaise turned his attention to Hermione. Noticing the way the two Heads stood by each other, he glanced back and forth between them. "Are you two together, then?"

Hermione blushed slightly and looked up at Harry, but he kept his eyes on Zabini. He wasn't too happy about the look on the Slytherin's face.

"Yes, we are," Hermione finally replied.

"So Weasley …?"

"Is going with Neville Longbottom," Harry stated firmly. Now he thought he knew what Zabini's game was.

"Longbottom? Really?" Blaise raised his eyebrows.

Before he could say anything else, Tracey grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the compartment. "Come on, loverboy, you can try somewhere else." She shot Harry a quick grin as they headed down the corridor. Harry grinned back. He wasn't sure he trusted Zabini but Tracey Davis struck him as someone he could get to like.

The rest of the train ride passed uneventfully. Ron returned with Ginny, Neville, and Luna and everyone caught up for a while. When Luna was told that Ginny was now dating Neville and Hermione and Harry were together she looked intently at each couple then responded simply, "That works."

Harry and Hermione got quite a few surreptitious glances during the two times when they went out to patrol the train, but there were no disturbances. Most of the troublemaking students had not returned. The six friends enjoyed each other's company for the remainder of the trip.

When the train arrived at Hogwarts Harry and Hermione helped Hagrid make sure all of the first years got into the boats OK, then made their way to the carriages. As Ginny, Ron, and Hermione stopped before getting into a carriage, Harry suddenly realized that they could all see the thestrals now. Luna and Neville had always been able to see them, and they gently took Ron and Ginny by the hand and pulled them into the carriage while Harry did the same for Hermione. They were all quiet as they rode to the castle.

Without really thinking about it, Harry and Hermione were holding hands again as they entered the Great Hall. It was only after Neville turned to look at them and then took Ginny's hand that Harry realized that they were making another statement to the other students and he smiled as he felt Hermione squeeze his hand before they broke apart to sit down at the Gryffindor table. Harry sat with Hermione on one side and Ron on the other, while Neville and Ginny sat across from them. Suddenly the hall quieted as Professor Flitwick led the first year students in.

This, as much as anything else that happened that day, served to emphasize that things would be different this year. As long as anyone could remember, it had been McGonagall leading the first years in while Dumbledore watched serenely from the center of the faculty table. Now she sat in his accustomed spot, and the reminder of his mentor's loss sobered Harry's mood.

Right up until he spotted Kristin waving happily to him as she marched in with the other first years. That kid was going to be as irrepressible as the Creeveys, Harry decided. He then sat back to await the sorting. Once again, the Sorting Hat implored them to put aside their divisions and unite to face their common enemy. This year, Harry thought grimly, they were going to follow those instructions or die trying.

To everyone's relief, the number of first year students was not much lower than in previous years, and the students were divided fairly evenly among the houses, with the exception that Slytherin house had only about half as many as the other three. Harry wondered how many students had unknowingly influenced their placement by thinking _'not Slytherin'_ as the Hat was deciding, just as he had at his own sorting.

Harry and Hermione noted particularly where the muggleborn students that they had met with ended up. Quiet Laura and chatty Kristin both ended up in Gryffindor, Kristin practically bouncing all the way over to their table. The twins Mark and Carolyn were separated, Mark going to Hufflepuff and Carolyn to Ravenclaw. Harry whispered in amusement to Hermione that Mark had probably told the Hat "anywhere but Ravenclaw" after his sister had been sorted. Finally, Jon ended up in Ravenclaw.

After McGonagall gave a few words of welcome, the feast began. When everyone's appetite was satisfied (even Ron's) the new headmistress began the announcements.

First Harry and Hermione both stood to another round of applause as they were introduced as Head Boy and Head Girl, then all of the faculty were introduced, followed by the announcements that Lupin and Slughorn would be the new heads of houses for Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively. There were nearly as many new faculty this year as in all his previous years combined, Harry realized, with Arabella Figg taking over from Filch, Augusta Longbottom for Binns, Lupin for Snape, Tonks for McGonagall, and Ted and Andromeda Tonks combining for Muggle Studies.

Harry noted that Trelawny and Firenze were continuing to share the Divination post. He wondered if Trelawny had overcome her drinking problem, but decided that was McGonagall's problem, not his. Inwardly he winced a little as he thought about this. McGonagall had never got along very well with the flaky Divination professor. He suspected that Dumbledore only kept her around to keep Voldemort from coming after her. _Oh well,_ he thought, _as long as she stays in the castle she'll be safe._

McGonagall then revealed the first of her surprises when she introduced teaching assistants for each of the subjects. In addition to Harry in Defense, Hermione in Transfiguation, and Charlie Weasley in Care of Magical Creatures, Lavender and Parvatti would be assisting the two Divination professors, Padma Patil was assisting in Charms, Tracey Davis in Potions, and Neville in Herbology. Susan Bones was announced for History of Magic, which caused Ron to mutter that it had probably been hard to find someone besides Hermione who had stayed awake during the classes.

The Ravenclaw boys were represented with Terry Boot in Ancient Runes and Anthony Goldstein in Arithmency, while the Hufflepuffs had Justin Finch-Fletchly in Muggle Studies and Ernie MacMillan in Astronomy. McGonagall finished by stating that Ron Weasley would be assisting Madame Hooch with quidditch, about which there would be another announcement later. As she finished, Harry realized that with the exception of Tracey every one of the students mentioned were DA members and was once again impressed with McGonagall's machinations.

Next McGonagall stunned the assembled students by announcing that effective immediately Muggle Studies would be required for graduation, except for those students with at least one Muggle parent. (Or who were raised by muggles, Harry added in his head.) For this year, she explained, that meant that all first year, fourth year, and seventh year students would be taking the course if not exempt. By way of explanation the headmistress stated that wizarding society had become too ignorant of the culture that they shared the country with, and that it was time to rectify this. This announcement did not go over very well with the pureblooded students. Many of them saw no reason why they needed to learn about an inferior culture. Even Ron was griping about it, although Harry and Hermione had already persuaded him to take the class. McGonagall stood firm, her stern expression unchanging as she waited for the grumbling to die down.

Finally she was ready to take on the major issue. "For the last several years, the Sorting Hat has urged us to set aside our divisions and come together as a school. So far we have failed to do that and it has cost us dearly. The staff and I, with the help of the Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, have come up with several ideas to help bring this about."

"First, in order to make it easier to study with members of other houses, we have set up study lounges for each year. These are located here on the first floor just down the corridor from this hall. In addition, the Great Hall itself will remain open until curfew for larger groups to meet."

"We want to encourage study groups and clubs of all kinds and ask that any such groups be open to all houses. One group in particular that I would like to mention is a Defense study group organized by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Some of you are already aware of this group as it was first formed two years ago. Mr. Potter and Miss Granger have agreed to resume this group this year and …"

"All right!" McGonagall was interrupted by a loud voice from the Hufflepuff table, probably Ernie MacMillan. He was immediately followed by a whoop from Colin Creevey, and soon twenty students were cheering, while many others were smiling and the rest had looks of curiosity. McGonagall managed to keep a straight face and waited patiently until the cheering died down.

"Yes, then, it seems that this may turn out to be a popular club," she noted wryly. "I'm sure that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger will be providing more details at a later date; please watch your house boards for further information. I have a few other announcements regarding social events as well," she continued. "We will try to have at least a few Hogsmeade weekends again this year, but due to security concerns they will not be announced in advance. In lieu of them, we will occasionally have weekends where we will invite certain merchants to set up booths in the courtyard."

"Think we can get Fred and George in here once or twice?" Ron whispered to Harry with a grin on his face. Harry agreed that the prospect of the twins selling their merchandise on the Hogwarts grounds was quite entertaining.

"Our major social initiative," McGonagall was now saying, "will be all-school dances." This caught everyone's attention. Looking around, Harry was amused to see generally delighted looks on the faces of the girls and panicked expressions on the guys. "There will be four such dances," the headmistress explained. A Halloween costume dance, a Yule Ball immediately prior to Christmas break, a Valentine's day dance, and an end of year dance. Each will have its own theme."

"It is my understanding that for Halloween, muggles traditionally dress up in costumes, some of which are intended to imitate witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins and so forth. For our Halloween dance you are encouraged to come dressed as muggles – that is, in traditional muggle party attire. I am sure that our muggleborn students will be happy to give the rest of us advice on costume selection for this event. Further, in the spirit of encouraging interhouse friendships, we are asking you all to attend either as a single or with a partner from a different house." There was a lot of murmuring about this, followed by some nervous chuckling as the older students began to consider alternate dating options. "This dance will be open to students of all ages."

"The Yule Ball will be a formal dance requiring traditional dress robes. It will be much the same as the Yule Ball held here three years ago, which you older students will remember. This dance will be for students fourth year and higher."

"There will also be an unusual twist on the Valentine's Day dance. This dance will require partners but the girls are to ask the boys this time." This announcement evoked even more nervous laughter from the boys and a great deal of giggling from the girls.

"Finally, the end of year dance will be a traditional party open to all students. Informal party clothing will be the order of the day, and weather permitting we will have a variety of entertaining outdoor activities for you to participate in."

Throughout these announcements there had been a gradually increasing level of murmuring in the hall. Students realized that this would be a year unlike any in recent memory, and the more thoughtful ones understood that the Hogwarts administration was making a supreme effort to ensure not only their educational success, but also their physical as well as their emotional well-being.

McGonagall's last announcement brought the Great Hall to complete silence. For it was at this time that she announced that there would be changes made in the way quidditch would be contested this year at Hogwarts. Rather than the traditional four house teams, there would be an unlimited number of teams competing in a tournament for the Quidditch Cup. There would be a month of quidditch practices that would be open training sessions for anyone who wanted to play, after which teams would be formed and competition would begin. While the exact rules regarding the composition of the teams would be revealed later, it was expected that each team would contain members from multiple houses. During practice times pickup games would be encouraged, and formal practices with specific teams would be limited. The idea was to get as many players involved in the sport as possible, but still be competitive.

After a short period of stunned silence, a buzz arose which quickly grew into loud chatter as the students realized the implications of these changes and began discussing the possibilities. As the dinner broke up and the prefects began to lead the first years to their houses several Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students began migrating over to the Gryffindor table to find out if Harry or Ron had any more details, and not incidentally what their thoughts were on who they might like to have on their teams. Ron and Harry both assured everyone that everything would be made clear on the first practice the following Saturday, and wished them all good luck.

-----

Harry and Hermione were relaxing on the sofa in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. The room was almost empty as most of the students were in their various dorms settling in and renewing acquaintances. The day seemed to have been a success but they were glad it was almost over.

"Harry?" Harry looked over to Hermione to see her looking slightly nervous. "Have you ever thought about what you're going to do next year?"

"You mean after Voldemort's gone? If we survive?"

"_When_ we survive, Harry," Hermione chided. "Have you?"

"Not really," Harry admitted. "The only time I really thought about it was 5th year when we had those sessions with McGonnagall. Then I thought I wanted to be an Auror."

"And now?" 

"Now I'm not sure. I think I might have had enough of fighting by then. I haven't really thought about any kind of future every since Dumbledore told me about the prophecy. What about you?"

"I'm not sure either. When you were talking about going into the Aurors I was thinking about doing that too." She noticed the surprised look on his face and punched him playfully in the arm. "Hey, someone's got to keep an eye on you. Wouldn't want you to do something stupid and get yourself killed," she smirked. He smiled back and she continued. "Other than that, I guess maybe go to an advanced school, and get a mastery in something."

"They have advanced schools?"

"Yes, you prat. How do you think people become masters?"

Harry shrugged at this, then looked at her shrewdly. "You weren't really talking about careers were you?"

"No."

"I guess I thought I'd get back together with Ginny, and see what happens."

"You don't know?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Well, we only dated for a few weeks. How can I know how it will turn out? Maybe we're right for each other and maybe we're not …" Harry trailed off, not noticing the look on Hermione's face.

Hermione leaned toward him and took hold of his hand. "Whatever happens, I want to still be a part of your life."

Harry looked puzzled. "Oh. I never really thought of that."

Hermione's heart fell at these words and tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing this, Harry immediately realized what that had sounded like and grabbed her into a fierce hug.

"No, no Hermione, I didn't mean it like that. Of course you'll still be a part of my life. It never occurred to me that you wouldn't and so I never thought about whether you would be or not. That's what I meant. Jeez, I say stupid things sometimes. I'm so sorry."

Harry reached out and a tissue appeared in his hand. He clumsily tried to dry Hermione's tears, continuing his apologies all the while.

Hermione took his hand and pulled it back. Her eyes sparkled through the remaining tears, and a bright smile had returned to her face. Her heart returned to its correct location and was beating once more.

She touched his cheek tenderly and said, "It's OK, Harry. I don't know why I reacted like that. You're right of course. We'll always be a part of each other's lives." She paused. "I guess I was just thinking about what would happen if you weren't with Ginny."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she understands our relationship and would be OK with it. What if you get another girlfriend who isn't so understanding?"

"Oh, you mean like Cho was."

Hermione nodded.

"Well, any girlfriend of mine who can't accept the fact that you're my best friend just won't be my girlfriend very long." Harry paused thoughtfully. "I kinda hope the same would be true of any boyfriend of yours?"

An even bigger smile grew on Hermione's face. "Of course it would be." She looked into his eyes. "I love you Harry Potter."

"I love you Hermione Granger."

A gasp interrupted them and they turned to see two second year girls who had overheard the last two sentences staring at them, their hands over their mouths, excitement in their eyes. They turned and ran for the stairs to the dorms.

"Well, I guess we're doing a good job of establishing our cover," Hermione commented wryly.

"Maybe we can do an even better job."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at him. His head was moving toward hers. Her eyes grew wide and her lips parted automatically just before her eyes closed. He gently touched his lips to hers and a thrill shot through her. She kissed back lightly, her heart pounding now, but she refrained from anything deeper. After a few seconds he pulled away. Eventually she opened her eyes to see him grinning at her. "What?"

"I guess there was."

"Was what?"

"When we kissed this summer, you said there wouldn't necessarily be a second kiss. I guess there was."

They stood up and he took her hand, leading her to the stairs. "Come on. We need to check all the dorms and then get back to our rooms. I'll probably stay a while with the seventh year guys and visit."

"Uh, don't remind me," Hermione grimaced. "I'm sure I'm in for a long cross examination from Lavender and Parvati. I imagine those two second years just now have spread the word all through the girls dorms. Don't wait up for me, I'll just see you in the morning."

As they walked to the stairs to the dorms, Harry kept glancing at her expectantly. She knew what he wanted to ask but just smiled at him, making him say it. Finally he gave in. "So, was it as good as the first one?"

She just kept smiling back at him. "No, the first one was better."

His smile grew. "Well, we'll just have to see if we can do better on the third one won't we?" he teased.

"I guess so," she teased right back.

They finally reached the stairs. "Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Harry." She started to turn to go up the stairs, but he gave her another quick kiss first. She smiled up at him one more time. "Hmm, better luck on the fourth one, then." She turned and ran up the stairs before he could respond.

As she hurried up the stairs she was aware of all the excited faces peering down from the different girl's dorms. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face. _No, pretending to be Harry's girlfriend isn't going to be hard at all_.

---------------


	2. Classes Begin: Not the Same Old Hogwarts

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 2, Classes Begin: Not the Same Old Hogwarts  
**

Tuesday, September 2

Harry awoke early and lay in bed awhile thinking about his plans for the day. Most of his time during the day each week would be spent in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. Today he had second years in the morning and sixth years in the afternoon, but right now he had some free time before his first class. Finally he stretched and got up and made his way into the bathroom. The Head suite was quite nice. He had a good size bedroom with a private bath. On the other side of the baths Hermione's room was a mirror image of his own. Their rooms opened to a large common room, with two couches and several comfortable chairs. They each had a desk and a bookshelf in their bedrooms, and there were two more desks and multiple bookshelves in the common room, which Hermione had managed to fill already. There also was a nice fireplace in the common room, with a floo connection to McGonagall's office. Overall, it was similar to their house this summer, but with only two bedrooms and without the kitchen.

As he got dressed, Hedwig opened an eye and hooted softly at him. He had missed his owl this summer. Most summers, Hedwig had been his faithful companion and his only link with the wizarding world. This year, Hedwig had stayed with Ron at the Burrow, one of the concessions Harry had needed to make while hiding out as a muggle. He spent some time stroking his pet's soft feathers and Hedwig hooted again in appreciation.

He went out into the common room and knocked on Hermione's door. When she responded he inquired, "Do you want to go out for a run this morning?"

"Sure. Just let me get changed." Harry went back into his room and emerged shortly in a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. As he was lacing up his trainers Hermione came out of her room in a pair of sweats of her own, pulling a tee shirt over her sports bra.

No one was stirring in castle yet except a few excited first years and they made their way out onto the grounds undisturbed and took off around the lake. As they ran, they filled each other in on the previous night's conversations. Harry related how Neville had been the subject of a lot of good-natured kidding about his new relationship with Ginny. Seamus had joked that he must be next in line, since Ginny had now dated every other Gryffindor seventh year but her brother. Hermione smiled a little at that comment, then laughed out loud when Harry revealed that Ron's reaction to the remark had turned Seamus's hair green for half an hour. He had apparently learned a lot of new pranks while working for his brothers during the summer. She also blushed a little when Harry informed her that Dean and Seamus had congratulated him on his new relationship with her and had both commented on how good she looked this year.

Hermione then told about her grilling from Parvati, Lavender, and the other older girls, and the story she had made up about how they had _finally_ (in Parvati's words) got together. She let him know that the story was that they had written each other all summer, then he had come to visit her and things just developed from there. She had firmly resisted the Gryffindor gossip twins' demands for the juicy details, so Harry didn't need to worry about making anything up in that department. He jokingly pointed out that it would be amusing to see their reaction to hearing of their exploits at the Granger swimming pool, and she laughed that she didn't think that they would be able to handle having their image of their bookworm roommate shattered that thoroughly. He was pleased that the tale she had concocted had a certain amount of truth to it and wasn't that much of a stretch.

By the time they were halfway around the lake both of their tee shirts were damp and they removed them as they stopped to stretch a while.

"We need to take advantage of this warm weather while it lasts. What's your schedule like?"

"I have NEWT Potions Tuesday morning and Arithmency Thursday morning. We have Charms and Transfiguration together Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. I'm seeing Tonks today to work out a time to meet with her every week. How about you?"

"Besides the classes I have with you, I have Defense classes on Monday and Tuesday afternoons and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings, but nothing before 10:00 AM. And I'm finished by 3:00 every day."

They finished stretching and resumed their run around the lake back towards the castle. After a while Hermione proceeded with the discussion. "OK, so let's try to run every morning before breakfast as long as the weather holds. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays we'll lift weights, too. Has Dobby finished moving our weights to our training room on the third corridor?"

"I'll check to make sure he's finished today so we can start tomorrow," Harry responded. "Is there a place to keep running once we have to move indoors? I don't think the staff would be too happy to have us racing up and down the corridors."

"I wonder if the Room of Requirement can make us an indoor track?" Hermione mused.

"I bet it can," Harry said excitedly. "It can probably become an indoor pool, too!"

"Oh, that's a great idea. We can alternate swimming and running in the mornings and evenings."

Their workout plan decided, the pair relaxed and chatted about the previous day's activities for the rest of their run. As they approached the castle Hermione nudged Harry and said, with a gleam in her eye, "Better put our shirts back on. We don't want anyone to see us in this indecent muggle clothing."

Harry just laughed. He had been astounded when she had told him about her conversation with Molly and had ended up shaking his head in wonder. There were still things about the wizarding world that he just hadn't gotten used to. They stopped and pulled their tee shirts back on and headed back into the castle to shower and change for breakfast.

-----

"Hi Harry!"

Harry had stopped in the Gryffindor common room on the way to breakfast to see if Ron, Neville, or Ginny were ready to go when he was spotted by Kristin and Laura. He smiled as he noticed that Kristin had jumped right up and called out to him while Laura was tugging on her arm trying to tell her not to bother the Head Boy.

"Hi kids, are you ready for breakfast?" Harry looked around and decided the other three could catch up later and escorted the two first years down to the Great Hall, where he joined Hermione at one of the tables. As McGonagall had promised, there were twenty smaller tables each seating a dozen students replacing the four house tables, and Hermione had already sat down with Carolyn and some other Ravenclaw first years. Soon their whole table was full of young students excited to be eating with the Head Girl and Head Boy. Eventually it was time for class, and Hermione went off to Potions while Harry made his way to the Defense classroom.

-----

Hermione's good mood vanished as she started toward the dungeons for Potions. Never before had she made this trek without Harry and Ron, and it was not a particularly pleasant part of the castle. Suddenly she heard her name being called and turned to see Ernie MacMillan hurrying to catch up with her. It turned out that he was the only Hufflepuff and she was the only Gryffindor in their year taking Potions, so they decided to walk down together. Her spirits lifted somewhat now that she knew she would have at least one friend in the class.

When they entered the Potions lab they found that there were eight students in NEWT Potions this year, with three Ravenclaws and three Slytherins accounting for the rest. There were four two-person tables set up for their use and Hermione and Ernie moved to an empty one as Slughorn swept into the room from his office. He immediately launched into a lament about the absence from his class of Harry Potter. Hermione grimaced. Tonks had informed them last week that Slughorn had not taken the news that Harry was dropping Potions very well, going on and on about Harry's natural talent in the subject that he had inherited from his mother.

_Well, we'll see who has the potions talent now_, thought Hermione irritably. She had the Half Blood Prince's book in her bag, and while she wasn't planning to follow it as single-mindedly as Harry had, she did intend to check it for tips on whatever potions they were assigned to make. Finally Slughorn decided to get on with the class. He began by announcing that in accordance with the headmistress's emphasis on interhouse cooperation, the potions students were going to pair up with others outside of their house. Despite the fact that Hermione was already sitting with someone from another house, he moved her to another table. When the rearrangement was finished, there were two Slytherin-Ravenclaw pairs, Tracey Davis with Anthony Goldstein and Daphne Greengrass with Terry Boot, and a Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw combination, Ernie and Padma. To her disappointment, she found herself paired with Blaise Zabini. But when he came over he grinned at her and greeted her warmly, saying how much he was looking forward to working with her this year. _He does have a nice smile though,_ she thought, and she unpacked her supplies and began to work.

-----

Harry was returning to the Great Hall for lunch, his mind on the morning's Defense classes. He had just sat in on consecutive second year sessions, first with Gryffindor and Slytherin and then with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. What a contrast Lupin's lesson had been to the first lesson from his own second year defense class. He would never forget how Lockhart had released the pixies and then fled the room, leaving him, Ron, and Hermione to capture them. _Good thing we had Hermione with us or we would never have got out of there._ As he entered the hall he automatically looked for Hermione, but she was sitting at a table with the rest of her potions class, right between Ernie and Blaise. Harry stared for a moment, a feeling of 'wrongness' filling him. For nearly his entire time at Hogwarts, Hermione had sat with him and Ron at meals. A tugging at his arm brought him back from his gloomy thoughts. Some of the Hufflepuff students who had accompanied him back from Defense class were urging him to join them for lunch, and with one last dispirited look over at Hermione, he turned and walked over to their table.

Eventually Ron and Neville came in along with Ginny and filled the remainder of the table. Harry asked them how their day had been so far, while trying to remember the names of the Hufflepuffs he was eating with. But it just didn't feel right without Hermione.

-----

"Honestly, why don't you two just go over and talk to her?" Harry had just glanced over at Hermione for the fourth or fifth time when his attention was abruptly drawn back to his own table. Ginny was smirking at him and Ron and had managed to imitate Hermione's voice and style of speaking perfectly. Startled, Harry and Ron exchanged a look, then turned sheepishly back to Ginny. Apparently Ron had been doing the same thing he had. "You look like a pair of lost puppies," she teased. Harry managed a shrug and turned back to his lunch. Ginny, however, would not let it go. "Harry," she said pointedly, "you don't want it to look like you're having a fight with your girlfriend on the first day of school."

Harry had a puzzled look on his face for a moment, then realized what she was telling him. "Right," he muttered and he climbed to his feet and hesitantly approached the other table, Ron trailing him.

"Harry!" Hermione said looking up with a smile on her face. "Where have you been?" Her smile fell when she noticed that something was troubling him. Ernie looked up and slid over, making room for him but he kept standing.

"We've been over there," he gestured to the other table where everyone quickly looked down at their plates.

Hermione was perplexed. "Why didn't you join us?"

"You looked busy."

Ron, having decided that Harry wasn't going to take the place Ernie had made, sat down and shrugged apologetically.

The atmosphere between Harry and Hermione was growing more uncomfortable by the second. The look on Hermione's face indicated that she had no idea what was going on. Finally Harry said, "Look, I've got to get to class. I guess I'll see you later," and turned away.

Hermione quickly decided that whatever was happening, she shouldn't let it go any further and leapt to her feet. In a few strides she caught up to Harry and grabbed his arm. Pretending that nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, she said cheerfully, "We're going off to the library to work on our potions assignment. I'll see you back at the room after your classes, OK?"

Harry nodded in confusion and she reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek while giving his hand a squeeze. Harry finally managed a smile, then turned to see Ginny, Luna, and Colin waiting for him. Ginny nodded her approval to Hermione, then came forward and grabbed Harry's arm and the four of them made their way to the Defense classroom.

-----

The afternoon class was considerably different than the morning ones. This was sixth year NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts, a double period, and Remus decided to spend this first class period testing the students on what spells they had mastered. He and Harry were both busy as they moved about the classroom, observing the students casting spells and making suggestions, while recording their impressions about each student's ability level. It was quickly apparent to Harry that Ginny, Luna, and Colin were the best in the class. They were the only three from their year that had been in the DA, and the rest had still not recovered from Umbridge's miserable excuse for Defense lessons. It was further obvious that Ginny was far ahead of everyone.

"Someone's been practicing this summer," Harry muttered in her ear when he managed to get her where no one would overhear. Ginny turned to him with a bright smile on her face, delighted that he recognized the hard work she had put in. Pretending to show her something, he gave her a quick hug before he moved away, leaving a very happy Ginny behind him.

After Remus and Harry conferred a bit, Remus asked Colin, Luna, and Ginny to remain after he dismissed the class. They congratulated the three on their performance, then Harry asked if they would be willing to take a leadership role in the DA this year. Of course, Colin was thrilled beyond belief. Harry had already had this conversation with Ginny and she also accepted enthusiastically, while Luna just smiled and told them of course she would. Harry accompanied Colin and Ginny back to Gryffindor tower, his mood considerably brighter than it had been at the beginning of the lesson.

-----

Hermione was sitting in their common room reading a book when Harry returned to the Heads suite. Quickly putting it aside, she asked, "What was that all about at lunch?"

Harry's good mood dissipated and he just shrugged and started toward his room. He wasn't sure he could explain it.

"Harry James Potter!" Startled, he turned to see Hermione standing with her hands on her hips, an anxious look on her face. "We didn't make all that progress getting closer to each other and having you learn to share your feelings with me this summer only to have you go back to withdrawing into yourself once we're back here." She moved up to take his hands in hers and lowered her voice. "Talk to me," she pleaded. She pulled him over to the couch and sat him down, then curled up next to him. She had said as much as she dared. It was up to him now.

Harry gathered his thoughts. "I'm sorry," he began. "I didn't mean to do that. I'm just having trouble explaining it." He paused, searching for the words. "I know we wanted things to change, but … When I came into the Great Hall I was looking for you and then I saw you sitting with your potions class and it didn't seem like there was any room for me."

"Harry, there were only eight of us. There was plenty of room …"

"Not by you. Ernie and Blaise were budged up next to you." Hermione's eyes widened a little. It had been flattering, she recalled guiltily, when the two boys had sat down right by her. It hadn't occurred to her how Harry would view that.

"Ernie moved over as soon as you came to the table," she protested.

"What, I'm supposed to just march up and say 'Get out of my way, I want to sit next to Hermione'?"

"Well, yes actually." Noticing his startled look she explained, "Maybe not in those words, but you're supposed to be my boyfriend. You can do that."

"I never had to do it before. You always saved me a seat." Hermione nodded in understanding. The Gryffindors had always automatically left an empty spot by her or Ron for Harry.

"It's more than that, though. Ever since we discovered this connection between us I can sense whenever you come into a room." Hermione nodded again. She could do the same with him. "I was there for more than half an hour and you never noticed. Usually you're looking for me."

Hermione was dismayed to realize that he was right. She had been so caught up with the attention that the others were paying to her, especially Ernie and Blaise she admitted to herself, that she hadn't even realized that Harry was there. That had never happened before. It was the sort of thing that would have annoyed her when Harry or Ron did it, she thought uncomfortably, thinking back to Ron's infatuation with Fleur or Harry's distraction by Cho during fourth year.

She reached out and took his hand. "You have a point; I'm sorry it made you feel bad. But, let's agree that we both could have acted differently. I should have been watching for you and you should have come over to at least let me know you were there. OK?" Harry agreed and they both felt a sense of relief. They decided that they would look for each other at mealtimes, and if one of them wanted to sit with someone else they would let the other person know.

"Ginny told me it wouldn't look good if I had a fight with my girlfriend on the first day," Harry informed her with a smile. "That wasn't a fight, was it?"

"Not even close," Hermione reassured him. "When we have a fight I'll be sure to let you know," she grinned, then went on. "We don't quite have the hang of this boyfriend/girlfriend thing yet, do we?" Harry agreed and they both leaned back on the couch for a while, with Hermione's head resting against his shoulder.

"Hey, I have an idea to cheer us up," Hermione announced suddenly, sitting up. "Let's try to get the Room of Requirement to make us an indoor pool."

-----

After the requisite pacing back and forth by the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy, the door appeared and they entered to find a pool that was twenty-five meters long but only three meters wide. Harry realized that they had needed a pool to swim laps in and the room had given them exactly that. Looking around, Harry noticed that there was no place to change into their suits, and suggested to Hermione that they turn their backs to each other. Hermione just looked at him and shook her head.

"Harry, it's the Room of Requirement," she reminded him. "If we need changing rooms it will give them to us." She concentrated for a moment and two doors appeared. Harry gave her a sheepish look and headed to one while she went to the other. Just before they closed the doors she added teasingly, "besides, I would have peeked."

Harry groaned as he pulled off his shirt and pants, trying to think of a retaliatory remark. (Somehow, saying he would have peeked too didn't strike him as being that clever.) He eventually gave up, reminding himself that he _never_ won one of these teasing battles with Hermione.

When they emerged he noticed that she was wearing a bikini that was considerably different than any she had worn during the summer. Instead of her customary triangle top with string ties, this suit had a top that resembled a sports bra. The bottom with two-inch sides had more coverage than her other suits with string tied bottoms. Aware of his inspection, Hermione waited until he was finished and then commented that this suit was designed for swimming rather than sunbathing. Since they were indoors, she pointed out, she wouldn't be doing any sunning.

Harry took all this in, then grinned at her. "That's OK, you look good in this, too."

Hermione smiled with pleasure at the compliment, and on an impulse leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. "Thank you, you're so sweet."

Harry looked back in surprise. "Um, Hermione, there's no one else here. Why'd you kiss me like that?"

Hermione inwardly berated herself for the slipup. She simply had to hide her feelings better than that! Recovering, she responded, "Oh. Well it's more convincing if we act like that all the time instead of trying to turn it on and off. Don't you think?" she added anxiously.

"I … I guess so." Harry looked at her strangely, but then shrugged and dove into the pool and started swimming. Relieved, Hermione sighed and dove in after him.

-----

"What have you two been doing?" asked Ron as they joined their friends at the Gryffindor table for supper. "We didn't see you all afternoon."

"Swimming," Hermione responded simply. At Ron's puzzled look she explained. "For exercise. Harry and I try to run or swim every day to stay fit. You should try it," she added, looking around at the others. Most of the Gryffindors gave them a strange look and went back to their meal. Exercise was not something most wizards did. Ginny had a thoughtful expression on her face, though, and Neville, noticing this, decided he should pay attention as well.

Ron spoke up again. "Quidditch keeps me in pretty good shape. No fat on me, is there?"

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother. "Trust me, Ron, Harry is in a lot better shape than you are." Suddenly she blushed as she realized the implications of what she had said. Several of the Gryffindors returned their attention, deciding that this conversation was more interesting than they had thought.

Ron turned to her suspiciously. "And you would know that how, exactly?"

Harry was getting nervous at where this discussion was heading, but Hermione quickly interjected, "Ginny came swimming with Harry and me one time at the end of the summer. But that's not the point. By exercising all summer Harry is in a lot better condition than he was before, even with playing quidditch. It really helps with your stamina when you're dueling." She was choosing her words very carefully now. She had been closely watching the Gryffindor students during this exchange. There had been quite a few looks of jealousy at her first statement, mostly by the female students at the thought of her and Ginny being familiar with Harry's physique. She was hoping to deflect their thoughts onto dueling and avoid them dwelling on words like 'stamina' or 'endurance' in regards to romantic relationships.

Ginny had recovered her composure and picked up on Hermione's argument. "I'd like to join you guys when you exercise if you don't mind. After some of those attacks this summer I think we should have every advantage we can get in a fight with Death Eaters." Neville immediately agreed, having finally made the connection between swimming and how girls were customarily dressed while swimming and decided that this suddenly sounded like a very good idea. Ron was unconvinced about his need for more exercise, but knew from long experience the downside of disagreeing with Hermione about something.

-----

The next morning was a real eye-opener for a few Gryffindors. This time Hermione decided to wear a T-back tank top instead of a sports bra, and put on long stretch pants instead of shorts under her sweats. Otherwise, she and Harry looked much the same as they had the previous day, with loose tee shirts and sweat pants. On their way out of the castle they stopped at Gryffindor tower to see who was going to take them up on their offer. To their surprise a half dozen students were ready to give it a go, including Ron, Ginny, Neville, Colin, and two younger years. The two younger students were muggleborn and had exercise clothing, but the other four were wearing jeans and tee shirts.

Since Ron and Ginny had been training to some extent during the summer, they were able to keep up better than Neville and Colin, but slowed to a walk before long. Harry and Hermione stopped part way again and did other exercises while waiting, and eventually Ginny and Ron trotted up. Ron dropped to one knee to catch his breath while Ginny leaned weakly against a tree. Harry paused from where he was doing situps while Hermione was holding his ankles and gave them both a smirk.

"OK, I admit it", Ron shot between deep breaths. "You're in better shape. I'll try to run with you sometimes but I'm definitely not swimming."

Harry and Hermione turned puzzled looks toward Ginny, and she gave them an 'I'll explain later' look. Harry turned back to Ron. "You should try to lift weights with us, too. Build up your upper body, and also improve your leg strength."

This time it was Ginny's turn to tease her older brother. "Yeah, the girls just love those rippling chest muscles." Before Ron could think of a comeback the two muggleborns arrived. They had been setting a moderate jogging pace and were breathing normally. After a brief pause they headed off again. Finally Neville and Colin staggered up to them. Harry winced in sympathy. While Neville had lost the pudgy look he had in his first few years at Hogwarts, he clearly wasn't in condition for this. Hermione had just finished her own set of situps and Harry released her ankles and moved over to talk quietly to Neville and Colin. After he got their agreement to take it easy and not push so hard right away, the two decided not to continue around the lake, but rest there a while and then head back. By now Ginny and Ron were ready to continue, so the four friends set off again, eventually finding a pace they were all comfortable with. Harry ran with Ron a bit and they talked about quidditch, while Ginny stayed with Hermione and asked her about her exercise clothing. When they returned to the castle they had some breakfast and then split up, Ginny going off to shower before Charms while Harry and Hermione took Ron to the weight room.

Ron decided he liked lifting weights a lot more than running and the trio spent an enjoyable time together. Harry and Hermione removed their sweats and Hermione her tee shirt when they started on the weights, and Harry had to grin at the wide-eyed look on Ron's face at the sight of Hermione's exercise clothing. After a good workout they all returned to their respective rooms to shower and change. Harry and Ron had Defense next and they decided to meet Hermione in Gryffindor tower before lunch and left her at the library.

Remus decided to do the same thing with the seventh year NEWT Defense class as he had the previous day with the sixth years. Once again, the former DA members were head and shoulders above the other students. As Harry moved about the room observing and taking notes many of them asked him when the DA would start up again. Harry told them to keep their charmed coins handy and he would signal them when he was ready to start. This caused quite a few embarrassed looks to be exchanged between several of them. While Harry hadn't been aware of it, word had spread throughout the group after the battle last spring about how Hermione had tried to call for their help with the coins and only Neville and Luna had responded. Justin and Ernie had gathered some of others together and they had vowed that they wouldn't let Harry down again.

Hermione was waiting with Ginny for them when they emerged from class, and they all had lunch together. Harry told the rest about the enthusiasm the DA members had shown, and they agreed to have their first meeting the following week with only the original DA members, then expand it later to the rest of the school. After lunch Ginny gave Neville a kiss and went off with Colin and Luna to Potions while the seventh years had Charms.

Harry was feeling great that afternoon, and he realized that this was their first 'normal' class. Finally he was in a familiar setting, with Ron and Hermione sitting on either side of him in a classroom. As usual, Hermione had to nag Ron at least once to pay attention and she was the first one to master that day's charm. For a change, though, Harry was almost as quick to get it as she was. As the year progressed, this was to become commonplace. Whether it was due to all the study during the summer, or the fact that he was taking his studies more seriously than ever, or something unexplainable, Harry began to be one of the top students in his classes.

-----

The next afternoon Ginny brought Neville to the Heads suite and asked if they could try swimming with them. Harry loaned Neville one of his suits (one of the baggy ones; he realized the pureblood wizard would freak out if he had to wear one of the racing suits) and they returned to the Room of Requirement. Ginny had on an old one-piece suit and Harry had to admit that as she had claimed during the summer, it pretty much covered up everything. Harry and Ginny started swimming while Hermione stayed at one end with Neville to teach him to swim. Reaching the other end of the pool Harry and Ginny stopped to talk.

Harry asked about Ron and Ginny explained that Ron didn't know how to swim and had some bad childhood memories of the water from some pranking by the twins while they were little. Harry recalled that Ron's fear of spiders was also due to a prank by the twins, and realized that while he had always envied his friend for his large family, there was a downside with having the twins for older brothers. Then he and Ginny turned their attention to Hermione and Neville and Harry laughed.

"Looks like Neville is having the same trouble learning to swim that I did." Down at the other end of the pool, Neville was finding it difficult to keep his eyes off of Hermione's bikini top and to concentrate on what she was trying to show him. "I think I had it even tougher than he does," Harry mused, thinking back to his first swimming lesson.

"Oh? Something you want to tell me?" Ginny prompted.

Harry hesitated. Actually, he didn't especially want to relate that story to Ginny, not being certain how she would react. Ginny saw his hesitation and frowned. She wished he would be more open with her.

"Promise you won't get mad?"

Several different retorts raced through Ginny's mind before she decided that this was an opportunity for her. "Is this the sort of thing you could tell Hermione?" He shrugged. "Harry, I want you to get to be as comfortable talking to me you are to her. I promise I won't get mad."

"OK. You know that bikini you wore when you came over to Hermione's house? Well, she wore that suit the first time she tried to teach me to float."

"So?"

"So she er, fills it out a little more than you do, and it was very distracting." He motioned down the pool to where Hermione was leaning over Neville as he was floating on his back, trying unsuccessfully to keep his mind on swimming.

Ginny's eyes grew wide as she realized exactly what he was saying, then she giggled. "Oh, Harry, is that all? That just proves you're a guy." She glanced back down to the other end. "Poor Neville, this must be really embarrassing for him." She looked back at Harry and deliberately ran her eyes up and down his body. "You know, I had a similar reaction when I first saw you in this swimsuit." Harry turned red and she laughed out loud before pulling him into a hug. "You're really a sweetheart, Harry."

After a moment she leaned back with a mischievous look in her eye. "So, Harry, who looked better in that suit, me or Hermione?"

Harry wasn't about to fall for that one. "I enjoyed it a lot more on you." At her raised eyebrow he explained. "I was so embarrassed when she wore it that I couldn't really appreciate it but with you it was OK to look so I could enjoy it." She nodded, satisfied with his answer so he decided to tease a little. "And then you had that little accident and I really enjoyed it then."

"Oh! You!" she sputtered, turning even redder than he had and began hitting him on the chest. "Oh that was so embarrassing. I can't believe you reminded me of that. You …" Harry suddenly ended her protests by the simple expedient of pulling her into a kiss. Ginny immediately decided that the kiss was a much better idea than whatever she had been about to say.

"Hey!" came Hermione's voice from the other end of the pool. "Are you guys here to swim or make out?" Harry and Ginny pulled apart and laughed, then began swimming again.

-----

As the weeks went on, things would come to settle into a pattern. Harry and Hermione would be up early to exercise along with anyone who wanted to join them, then again in the late afternoons. During the evenings when most of the students were doing homework, they and Ron would work on attack and defense spells with Remus or Tonks or another defense instructor.

As far as meals went, after their morning workouts they would shower and go to breakfast with whomever was up. Usually they tried to join a few of the younger students, especially looking for the muggleborns. On Tuesdays Hermione came to lunch with her Potions class and Harry joined her. Initially Ron joined them also, but he soon changed his mind, citing the conversation at the table. They quickly discovered that lunchtime conversation at a table with Hermione and three Ravenclaws was considerably different than what it had been at the Gryffindor table. These students tended to discuss in detail their coursework, particularly the class they had just come from or their upcoming classes. Unlike Ron, however, Harry decided it was worthwhile to stay and listen because he might learn something useful. Ginny and Neville usually joined them, too. Ginny was still taking Potions and she found the discussions helpful, not to mention that it was a chance to spend time with Harry.

On Thursdays it would be the same with Hermione's Arithmency class. This time it was Hermione and mostly Ravenclaws, along with Tracey Davis and a few Hufflepuffs. As a result of these lunchtime interactions Harry would gradually get to know some students that he really hadn't spent much time with before, and particularly grow to like Padma and Tracey, as well as Susan Bones and Ernie. And that after all, he thought with satisfaction, was the whole point of rearranging the mealtime seating.

---------------

A/N Just to avoid any confusion – we didn't race through the first month of classes in that last section, we just looked ahead a little and described how their schedules work out and the mealtime seating arrangements. The next chapter continues with the first week of classes.


	3. A Visit to London

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

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**Chapter 3, A Visit to London**

Friday, September 5

Fridays had been set aside for Harry to meet regularly with Viktor, and Hermione, being caught up in her work and wanting to do some shopping, decided to accompany him this first time. Shortly after breakfast they returned to the Heads suite and flooed to McGonagall's office. There Remus was waiting for them and they took their reusable portkeys to Grimmauld Place.

After staggering to a landing in the entryway (Harry was glad that at least he didn't fall flat on his face anymore) they stopped and looked around in amazement. The place was hardly recognizable. Gone was the obnoxious portrait of Mrs. Black. Gone was the awful troll leg umbrella stand. Gone were the gloomy light fixtures and dark, dingy colors. The place actually looked like a regular house!

"Harry Potter! You has come to visit! Welcome to your home!" Dobby appeared from nowhere and was bouncing up and down in excitement. Harry dropped to one knee and gave the little elf a hug, and Hermione did likewise. "Do you like it?"

"Dobby, I love it!" Harry exclaimed. Did you do all of this? It's fantastic!" Dobby nodded, with tears in his eyes. He looked like he was about to burst with happiness.

"Dobby had friends that helps, but most of it is being Dobby's ideas. Master Remus told Dobby what things must go away and Dobby made all the new things."

After Harry and Hermione had admired Dobby's work for a while, and assured him several more times that he had done a great job, the fireplace flashed green and Viktor Krum stepped out of the floo. Dobby excused himself for a bit and the four of them retired to the drawing room.

"How about we start with the good news?" Viktor inquired, and Harry readily agreed.

"First of all, bringing Dobby into this was brilliant. He apparently has a lot of friends and he has recruited house elves to staff the castle. No one ever realized this before, but house elves make perfect prison guards. They pop in with food, and to clean up, and pop out again. The prisoners can't touch them even if they wanted to, and most of these guys wouldn't even think of touching a house elf. They can't be bribed, or conned into doing anything by the prisoners. The only way any of these prisoners know how to treat a house elf is with contempt, and that's not exactly the way to get them sympathetic to their cause."

"Where do all these house elves come from?" asked Hermione. "Are you still using Hogwarts elves?"

"Well, that's the beauty of the whole thing," grinned Viktor. "It seems that Lucious Malfoy isn't the only Death Eater that mistreats his house elves. In fact, it's pretty much a universal practice for them. There are quite a few who have been abused so badly they couldn't do their work anymore, and then they were given clothes and dismissed. Dobby's been recruiting these elves to our cause and as you can imagine, they're fanatically loyal to us."

Harry was watching Hermione while Viktor was explaining, and he could see the different emotions that flashed across her face. She was outraged at the treatment he was describing, but relieved that these elves were in a better situation now. And while she was uneasy with the thought that they were taking advantage of the dismissed elves, she realized what an asset they were. He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze, trying to send a message that he understood her concerns. She turned to look at him and smiled, seeing that he had read her thoughts completely.

Meanwhile Viktor had paused, having noticed the nonverbal communication going on. He had been gradually getting used to that while he was in the presence of this pair. When he had their attention again he continued.

"It gets even better. Many of the house elves that are still working for Death Eater families are as disgruntled with their situations as Dobby was with the Malfoys. He has been able to make connections with these also, and as a result we have a superb spy network."

"How is that possible?" Hermione queried. "I thought house elves weren't able to betray their masters' secrets."

This time it was Remus who offered an explanation. "I imagine it's similar to the situation with Dobby. He wanted to tell you things and managed to hint at them without directly betraying the Malfoys. He probably knows exactly how to ask questions so that the Death Eaters' elves can answer."

"Something like that," responded Viktor. "And in addition, their bond only prevents them from giving away their own master's secrets. There's nothing to prevent a Dolohov house elf, for example, from telling us things he knows about the Lestranges." Harry and Hermione both nodded. That made sense. It worked both ways, though, Harry thought uneasily. Kreacher had hated Sirius and had managed to betray him, too.

"Also, we can't forget about Winky," Viktor added. At their puzzled looks he explained. "She seems to be something of a heroine among 'normal' house elves. While Dobby is still considered a bit strange for wanting to be free, she is admired for resisting it." He winced at Hermione's glare but bravely went on. "Apparently it's very unusual for a house elf who's been dismissed to get another position but she managed to do it so they're all impressed. And it seems that the Weasleys are considered to be very prestigious wizards among house elves – something about being one of the oldest wizarding families. So the result is that lots of house elves from all over the country are helping us out in whatever way they can in their spare time."

Harry burst out laughing, which caused Hermione to turn her ire on him. Viktor breathed a sigh of relief and decided that he owed Harry one for this. "Come on, Hermione," Harry urged. "You have to see how ironic all of this is. We were only trying to help out Winky and help the Weasleys prepare for the wedding. We had no idea that there would be such far-reaching consequences. And I bet Winky has conveniently kept the other house elves from knowing that she is being paid by the Weasleys." Hermione managed a weak smile and Harry leaned over and gave her a quick one-armed hug.

"One more thing about the house elves," concluded Viktor. "We've added two to each strike team." Hermione's expression immediately returned to one of disapproval, but she managed to hold her tongue and let him explain. "They're perfect as advance scouts. When we get a target they pop in, check it out, and one stays to observe while the other pops back and gives the go ahead. Then when we get there the two of them put up an antiapparation ward so the rest of us can concentrate on the fighting. And the antiapparation ward doesn't affect them so they can pop out with any injured team members. And they can do all of that while staying invisible. Don't worry," he said trying to placate Hermione, "they stay out of the fighting, although they can take care of themselves in a fight if they need to."

"Speaking of battle tactics," he said leaning forward slightly. "Keep this to yourselves but we have a goblin assigned to each strike team too." That one clearly caught them by surprise. "It seems that they have a way to nullify a portkey. That's why you can't take a portkey into Gringotts. We just found this out and haven't used it yet, but imagine the looks on the faces of the Death Eaters when we attack them the next time and they can't use their portkeys to escape." There was a gleam in his eye in anticipation.

At this point Dobby returned with refreshments and Harry took the opportunity to thank him for everything he had done to recruit more house elves to their cause. Dobby assured him that all the other elves considered it as much an honor to work for Harry Potter as he did.

"Next item," said Viktor, resuming the briefing. "We really have the Death Eaters off balance right now. They're not used to having their members turn up dead or missing after a raid. The dead ones we turn over to the Ministry but the ones we capture we take back to the castle and no one knows what happened to them. We think it's probably driving Voldemort crazy trying to figure it out. For the first time someone is fighting back and he doesn't like it at all. If we keep this up he won't have many Death Eaters left. His recruiting has hit a snag now that prospective recruits see people fighting back and Death Eaters disappearing and dying. So he's going to have to change tactics, and the challenge for us is to figure out what he'll try next."

Viktor paused and looked around. "First, I can tell you the things we don't have to worry about. The dementors have been pretty well neutralized. There have been several other attacks since the wedding where some of them have been killed and they aren't happy about that at all. Quite a few of them have returned to Azkaban and they have indicated that they want no more of this war. The Ministry has granted them a sort of amnesty in hopes that the remainder will follow." Harry shared a glance with Hermione and leaned back, breathing a sigh of relief. That had been a real stroke of luck, finding the way to destroy dementors. And, he thought, Hermione deserved as much credit for that as he did.

"The other threat that has been eliminated is the werewolves," Viktor continued, nodding to Remus. Most of it due to what happened this summer. The capture and execution of Fenrir Geyback opened a lot of eyes. Not only do they no longer have him pressuring them to join up, but his execution was also something of a deterrent. In addition, Remus being rehired at Hogwarts and becoming a respected leader in the resistance has caught their attention. And the Ministry's actions with the repudiation of Fudge, along with the arrest of Umbridge who championed the anti-werewolf laws, has helped as well."

"Could we do even more for them?" interrupted Harry. "Maybe make Wolfsbane potion available free of charge to any werewolf who pledges to stay away from Voldemort?"

"Great idea, Harry!" exclaimed Hermione, seeing where he was going with this idea. "Wolfsbane potion is a NEWT level potion. We could get Slughorn to assign it to our potions class, then give it to whoever needs it."

"Right, as long as we can keep Slughorn from taking it and selling it," returned Harry grimly, recalling what the greedy Potions professor had done with the Acromantula venom.

"Leave that to Minerva and me," responded Remus. "We can be quite persuasive when we need to be." He bared his teeth in a scary smile.

"So that leaves us with the most likely threats being trolls, vampires, and giants right now," stated Viktor. The twins have been working with our muggle military guys to develop weapons. You'll meet these people in a little bit. But you should prepare for the possibility of an attack by some of these creatures."

Harry shared an uncomfortable look with Remus and Hermione. Hogwarts was well defended, but other places, such as Hogsmeade, were vulnerable. They would have to consider this threat in their DA training.

"Before we visit our operations center," Viktor finished, "there's one more thing I need to tell you." He hesitated. "Snape." Harry seethed inwardly at that name but forced himself to remain calm. A glance at the others showed that they were having the same struggle. "He's begun to demand to see the new leader of the Order. Says he has important information for whoever it is."

An uneasy silence filled the air. None of them wanted anything to do with the traitor, but … Finally Viktor spoke up, raising the question none of them wanted to consider. "Is there any way this could be legitimate? Could his killing Dumbledore have been part of some bizarre plan?"

Harry was unable to respond. His emotions wouldn't allow him to believe that there could possibly be any good reason for the Headmaster to have died, but he knew that leadership required him to rise above his personal feelings if need be.

Finally Hermione spoke up. In a small, unsteady voice she began. "I don't know what arrangements he may have had with Dumbledore, or why the Headmaster thought he could trust him. But I do know that he fully intended for Ron and me to be dead by now. There was no other possible outcome of his attack on us when he left us helpless and gave Malfoy that portkey. He might have had some convoluted plan to free Harry once Voldemort had him, but I doubt it. I don't think he ever believed that Harry would be the one to defeat Voldemort. He may want Voldemort to be defeated but …" She was trembling too much to continue. Harry gently wrapped her up in his arms and hugged her to himself. He knew how painful it had been for her to have to bring up the memories of that attack again. He realized that he would probably be spending some time with her tonight chasing away nightmares. When she had finally settled down he pulled back a little and she looked up and gave him a small, grateful smile.

"Look," he said finally. There's no way he has any information that's not at least a month old, right?" Remus and Viktor nodded. "And we're not sure we can trust anything he says anyway?" Again they nodded. "And there's no way we can trust him enough to release him and let him go back to spying?" One more set of nods. "Then I say we keep him locked up and put him on trial when this is all over. Let someone else decide what he is and isn't guilty of."

Everyone was satisfied with that approach and they got up to go see Viktor's control center. To their surprise, he told them that it could only be reached by apparation, and he side-along apparated them there one at a time. When they were all gathered together again, they appeared to be in a wide-open space in the basement of a building.

"Right now we are in the lower levels of a building adjacent to the Ministry of Magic," Viktor began. "The Ministry owns this building, but very few Ministry employees are aware of its existence. And the ones that do know about it think it's empty and just used for storage. It's unplottable and hidden by disguising charms, so no one could find it. It's also completely sealed off from the building above, so the only way in or out is by apparation."

"How do your muggle workers get here then?"

"They call in on a muggle device they call a … a pager?" He looked up questioningly and Hermione nodded so he continued, "when they're ready to come in and a house elf goes and picks them up." Viktor had a satisfied look on his face as he saw how impressed his visitors were. They were all looking around in wonder, and Hermione hadn't even complained about the use of the house elf. "This is the arrival/departure area. Even if someone did manage to apparate in, there's no clue that anything is going on here.

Next he walked up to one wall and tapped it with his wand and a doorway appeared. Moving through it they found a staircase. "This doorway is keyed to certain wands only. We'll add your wands to the charm before you go. Make sure you remember the exact spot on the wall to tap because there are no markings identifying it." They descended the staircase and another tap on the blank wall at the bottom revealed another doorway.

Once through this doorway they seemed to be in an entirely different building. This was a well-lit room with several large tables in the center and a number of computer workstations along the walls. One wall was dominated by a large electronic screen. At various times maps or pictures appeared on this screen, which were being sent from the different workstations. Viktor explained that on the advice of a Scotland Yard inspector one of the things they were doing was plotting the locations of attacks, and looking for clusters of certain kinds of spell usages. The spell data was being generated on parchment by the Ministry's spell detector, and then entered into the computers by a group of muggles. Looking over, Harry recognized several of the people whose homes he and Hermione had visited during the summer, then noticed that one in particular looked familiar. It was Mrs Creevey, Dennis and Colin's mum!

"Harry, Hermione!" She waved to them and they walked over. Harry could tell she was related to Colin and Dennis by the way she enthusiastically hugged them and was bubbling in excitement as she showed them her work. They were initially surprised to see her here, since she was not a computer programmer, but she pointed out that you didn't need a computer degree to do data entry work. Any muggle could manage it. She and quite a few other moms and some of the dads spent part of their days and evenings here entering information at the workstations. Hermione was chagrined that she had not thought of this herself, but was glad that some of the muggle parents had taken the initiative and that Viktor had found ways for them to help.

Harry had another uncomfortable thought. "How are we paying for all of this?" he inquired of Viktor. Do you need more than the million galleons I gave you?"

Viktor gave an evil grin. "The muggle police inspector that has been helping us told us about an interesting law. I'll let him explain," he said, motioning to a man who was approaching them.

The inspector, who Harry recalled was the parent of a Hufflepuff, introduced himself and filled them in on the concept of forfeiture laws. Of course, Hermione immediately knew what he was talking about but politely waited while he explained it to Harry. It seemed that the muggles had laws that permitted the government to confiscate the assets of criminals convicted of certain types of crimes. Scrimgeour had immediately seen the advantages of such a law, and drafted an act allowing the Ministry to seize the assets of convicted Death Eaters, quickly getting it approved by the Wizengamot with little fanfare. In an unprecedented display of wizard-goblin cooperation orchestrated by Ragnok, Gringotts had made available the contents of the vaults of the Malfoys, Lestranges, Dolohovs, Averys, Notts, Macnairs, Jugsons, Mulcibers, Rookwoods and others. All of these vaults, of course, had already been sealed during the summer as a result of Harry and Ragnok's original conversation, but now in a supreme irony the fortunes of the Death Eaters were being used to finance the war against Voldemort!

Just as Harry thought there couldn't be any more surprises today, a door appeared in one of the walls and a beautiful blonde woman walked through with a stack of parchments.

"Fleur?" The woman looked up and broke into a heartstopping smile – heartstopping for most males that is. She immediately dropped her parchments on a nearby table and hurried over to give Harry and Hermione hugs.

"Harry, Hermione! It's so good to see you again. How do you like our little hideout?"

"It's great, what are you doing here?"

"I am one of the newest employees of the Ministry of Magic, of course." She explained. "The son of the head of a minor department gets married. His wife needs a job. The head of an even more minor department is a family friend. He finds her an entry level job and no one gives it a second thought. It happens all the time in politics." She shrugged her shoulders in a typical Fleur gesture. "And now Viktor has someone else he can trust working in the Underage Magic Office. Clever, no?"

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed. Hermione had to agree. Now that she had gotten over her annoyance at the French witch's beauty and its effect on her friends – more so Ron than Harry, she had to admit – she had grown to appreciate her other attributes, in particular her cunning mind. She was a good person to have on their side.

Fleur then showed them that the tunnel she had just come out of was a direct connection to the room in the Ministry with the magic spell detector. Among other things, her job was to bring the reports over to the muggle data entry workers. The tunnel was warded so that only certain people could pass through, and on the Ministry side appeared to be a broom closet. Viktor hastened to add that Fleur was more than a courier and was also one of his most trusted advisors. Fleur beamed at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before retrieving her parchments and distributing them to the appropriate workstations.

-----

When they finished their tour, Harry and Hermione told Remus that they were going to stay and do some shopping in muggle London. They would have lunch too, and would be back to the castle later in the afternoon. With a final caution to them to be careful, Remus disapparated from the departure area to return to Hogwarts. Hermione took out her wand and cast disillusionment spells on the two of them, then took Harry's arm and they too were gone.

They appeared in an empty alleyway in London. After a quick look around Hermione dispelled the charm and they walked out into the street. She had been here shopping with Ginny during the summer and so had already worked out the best spot to apparate into that was most convenient to the stores she wanted to visit.

"How many places do we have to go to this time?" Harry asked with a mock groan. He actually didn't mind shopping with Hermione that much, but still enjoyed giving her a hard time about it. Hermione was a very efficient shopper. She knew what she wanted and didn't waste time wandering around the store looking at unnecessary items. She picked out the things she was interested in, tried them on, and made her decision. She was aware, of course, that Harry was teasing her but it was all part of the game, so she gave him a mock glare in return. For a guy, Harry wasn't bad to shop with. Except for a little token complaining, he waited patiently for her, and would offer an opinion when asked. The first few times they had gone out he told her he liked everything, but eventually she got him to expand a little. Now his pronouncements ranged from 'That's OK' to 'Yeah that's pretty good' to 'That looks great!'

Today, however, they weren't shopping for things for her, or for him. Her mission was to pick up some exercise clothing for their wizard friends. Ginny also wanted a nicer swimsuit. She was pretty sure Harry would enjoy helping pick _that_ out, at least.

First they went to the men's section and picked up a selection of shorts, tee shirts, and sweat pants and sweatshirts. Hermione had consulted with Ginny about sizes for Ron and Neville, and had Harry try things on to make sure. Ron was the same size as Harry, only taller, and Neville was his height but a little heavier. Eventually they found what they needed and moved to the women's exercise clothing. Here there was a lot more selection – stretch shorts and pants, sports bras, and tank tops or crop tops with regular or spaghetti straps. Thinking about Molly's diatribe during the summer, Hermione tried to keep her choices conservative. Harry, of course, had other ideas and kept suggesting some of the skimpier tops. Finally she compromised with him and picked up a couple of those too. It would be up to Ginny to decide what to wear and when and where to wear it.

The scene was repeated in the swimwear section. Hermione picked out a couple of suits with sports tops and moderate bikini bottoms like the ones she had been wearing in the Room of Requirement, but Harry's attention was focused on the string bikinis. Finally she relented and permitted him to pick out one of those, but told him he would have to wait and give it to her next summer.

As they were ringing up their purchases, Harry noticed the displays in the adjacent lingerie section. "So, is that what caused all the fuss this summer?"

Hermione glanced over at the mannequins and grinned back at him. "Why Harry, interested in what kind of underwear your girlfriend's wearing?" Harry blushed and shrugged, and Hermione laughed and gave his arm a squeeze. "Something like that," she replied, pulling him toward the exit. "We picked out some very pretty things, all nice and lacy and with matching colors. Ginny was so excited." She gave him a thoughtful look as they walked out onto the street. "Looking forward to seeing some of them?"

Harry was sort of wishing he hadn't brought it up, but part of him wanted to continue this discussion. He didn't respond immediately, and merely shrugged again. Hermione, who had a lot of experience in interpreting Harry's shrugs, waited a while and then added, "that's what Molly thought."

At his questioning glance she explained. "Her assumption was that the whole point of having pretty underwear was to show it to your boyfriend. Ginny immediately assured her that she and you had never done anything like _that_."

Harry gave her a grin and shook his head, and the two walked on in silence, each wondering where this discussion was going to go. Hermione could see several directions that were making her very nervous. She almost didn't hear his next question.

"What about you?" Hermione was brought up short and her mouth dropped. _What exactly was Harry asking her? He knew she had never had any kind of relationship like that! He couldn't be asking her if she would be interested in doing _'that'_ with him! Could he?_

"What?" was all she could manage.

Harry realized that his question could have been interpreted in a number of ways and rushed to clarify. "I mean, what do you think about that? Girls and guys. Going beyond kissing and stuff. You know …" He stood there, somewhat flustered, motioning a little with his hands.

Somewhat relieved, Hermione took his arm to continue walking again while she gathered her thoughts. "Oh. That," she finally began. "Well, you know that my family and I are strongly religious." She glanced at him and he nodded. "I feel that sex is something that should wait for marriage. I know that view isn't all that popular these days, but …" She broke off, waiting for his reaction.

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I understand. That doesn't surprise me at all. That's what I would have expected you to say." He hesitated, then went on. "But what about, you know, other stuff?"

Hermione kept hold of Harry's hand and subconsciously pulled him closer to her. A mixture of emotions was whirling through her mind. It felt so wonderful that he was comfortable enough with her to engage her in a conversation on such an intimate topic. And she was so pleased that he valued her opinion about it. Yet she knew she needed to keep her feelings for him from surfacing, and she was also worried about certain other things he might ask. They were passing a small park, and she motioned that they should go in and sit down on one of the benches. Harry readily agreed.

"Well," she began finally, "you know we're not prudish about our bodies in my family, right?" Harry smiled and nodded. "But even though they pretty much cover about the same amount, seeing a girl in a bikini is not the same thing as seeing her underwear. It's … it means something altogether different." She paused again, realizing that Harry had so little normal human interaction in his childhood that he might have trouble with this distinction. However, his expression made it clear that he was still in agreement.

"Along those lines, going topless at a beach or a swimming pool doesn't have anything near the same significance as taking your top off in private with your boyfriend. The second case is more of an invitation to something else – something more intimate."

Harry nodded again. He was having trouble believing they were having this conversation, but was glad she was willing to talk like this. Some of these things had been on his mind for a while now. "I get it. Like that time this summer at the pool when you had your top off, while I was shocked that you did it I never thought you were trying to suggest anything. But if you had come into my room and taken your top off, it would have been completely different." _'Like in that dream!'_ he thought, trying to keep from turning too red. Hopefully, she would attribute his blush to general embarrassment with the topic.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to know they were thinking along the same lines. She continued. "Now as to doing stuff like that with a boyfriend, on purpose, because you want to go beyond kissing and hugging – that's more complicated." She stopped, looking up into his eyes. Seeing nothing there but understanding she plunged ahead. "I think it depends on how deeply you care about the other person. I don't think it should be something casual. Physical intimacy should go along with how serious you are about the other person." She tried to force herself not to think about how this discussion might apply to her and Harry. She knew that was never going to happen.

"Maybe a little bit at a time, as you gradually grow closer to a person, maybe even fall in love?" suggested Harry. A bright smile appeared on Hermione's face and she nodded. He understood what she was saying, and even agreed with it! Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her into a hug. _'What is he doing?'_ was the only thing her stunned mind could come up with. _'Was he really talking about me?'_

Harry pulled back as quickly as he had hugged her, a grin of pure relief on his face. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so glad someone else feels the same way I do about that. I hear all this talk in the guy's dorms and it seems all they care about is how far they think they can get with a girl and it just seems so wrong. I mean there should be more to it than that, right?"

Hermione hoped the bit of tears in her eyes weren't too noticeable, or that he would think they were just due to the emotion of the topic. "Harry Potter, you'd better watch who you let hear you say things like that." At the dumbfounded look on his face she laughed. "Like I told you this summer, you are the perfect boyfriend. A girl would kill to have a boyfriend who thought that way." As an embarrassed smile crept onto his face she added, "at least most girls."

_Augh! Hermione, why'd you have to say that last part. You do not want him thinking in that direction._ But it was too late.

Harry grew serious again. "What about Ginny? How do you think she feels about that?"

Panicked thoughts raced through Hermione's head. _Harry, please don't ask me that. Please don't tempt me like that. It would be so easy for me to say something about Ginny right here that might make you change your mind about her. Then you might think about me instead. Oh I can't do this!_

But Harry was continuing. "Do you think she wants me to go further with her?"

Hermione finally managed to rein in her stampeding thoughts. "I … I don't know."

"I thought you said you two talked about things like that."

"Oh, well, I asked her not to tell me about what you and she were getting up to." A confused expression appeared on his face. "You know, it's like you're my brother, right? Like Ron wouldn't want you to tell him any of those details because she's his sister?" Hermione now realized that that was not at all the reason she had asked Ginny to refrain from giving her the lurid details of their relationship, but hoped he would accept it.

"Uh, yeah, I see your point," Harry admitted sheepishly. "Not if I wanted to stay in one piece anyway. It's just that I get the idea that she might want to go farther than hugging and kissing. But I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that yet."

"Harry, I think that you should only do what you're comfortable with – what you're both comfortable with," she amended. "I mean, you shouldn't go any farther than either of you is ready for." She reached for his hands and clasped them. "Don't worry, you'll know when the time is right." She wasn't sure if she believed these words or not, but she knew he needed to hear them. She sincerely hoped that Ginny wouldn't push him into something he wasn't ready for. She knew that inside of him there was still the small boy who had been locked in the cupboard and didn't think that anyone would ever love him. That boy had to be coaxed out of the cupboard, not dragged out. Would Ginny have the patience to do it?

She couldn't help the tears that started again and once more Harry grabbed her into a hug. He wasn't sure exactly what had brought on the tears, but did know what he could do to help make them stop. '_He is such a sweet, caring person,'_ she thought fondly. '_I love him so much.'_

Hermione pulled away and smiled at him. "Harry Potter, you really are the most wonderful person I know. I am so proud to be your friend."

Harry gazed back at her. "I could say the exact same thing about you. I really can talk to you about anything." He stood up and extended his hand to pull her to her feet. "C'mon, lets get some lunch."

-----

That night Harry and Hermione had just finished a lesson with Professor Longbottom and were sitting in their common are, staring at each other. They were trying to exchange specific words or phrases, but so far had only been able to get general impressions or sensations of thoughts. They could each tell that the other was trying to communicate something and they could feel a definite sense of the other's presence, but that was all. A knock at the portrait hole brought them back to their normal states of mind. When they opened up, though, no one was outside. Then they felt someone brush by, and Neville quickly appeared from under Ron's invisibility cloak.

"Hi guys. Ginny and I have a proposal for you. We're technically on a date right now, but we thought this would be a good time for a switch. She's waiting up in the Room of Requirement for Harry while I snuck down here in the invisibility cloak. Hermione and I can study here for a few hours, then you can come back and get me and we'll trade again. What do you think?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, recalling that afternoon's conversation, before Hermione walked up to Harry and gave him a little push. "Great idea, Neville. You can brief me on what happened in Herbology this week, then I can review Charms or Transfiguration with you if you like. Bye Harry." Neville handed Harry the invisibility cloak and before he knew it he was outside the portrait hole.

Not really sure how that had happened so fast, Harry nevertheless pulled the cloak over himself and made his way to the third floor. When he arrived a door appeared in the wall and he nervously entered the room.

Ginny was waiting anxiously for him on a sofa in front of a fireplace. Harry thought it was one of the coziest setups he could imagine and he realized that was exactly what it was. Ginny had created a nice comfortable space for them to just sit and be together. He smiled at her and joined her on the sofa. As he stretched his arm out along the back she happily snuggled up to him.

Ginny had given a lot of thought to what she wanted to happen in this relationship. Her previous experiences with boyfriends had been primarily physical, with not a lot of long, meaningful conversations. Perhaps it was because she was more mature now, but while she was definitely interested in getting more physical with Harry, she realized that that was not what it would take to make this last. While her other relationships had been fun, they had been little more than flings, marking time until she got what she really wanted. And Harry was the one she wanted more than anything.

She remembered every word of the conversations she had had with Hermione regarding Harry, and she had paid close attention to how her friend interacted with him. Although her inclination was to be jealous of the older girl, she knew that the closeness Hermione had with Harry was what she wanted. And if it took a lot of talking to get him to know her better and get comfortable with her and even more waiting for him to open up to her, she could be patient. After all, she had been waiting for him all her life.

And so, to Harry's surprise and relief, the date wasn't merely a snogging session with the potential to get more serious. Sure, there were a few nice kisses, but they were the frosting on a comfortable time spent with his girlfriend, getting to know her better. It was exactly what he was hoping for. And it was exactly what Ginny was giving him.

Before they knew it, several hours had passed and it was time to return to the Heads suite and trade back. And from then on, every week on Friday or Saturday night they would repeat the process. And as summer turned to fall and fall began to turn to winter, and everything went according to Ginny's plan, Harry would fall in love with her.

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	4. Quidditch and the DA

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

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**Chapter 4, Quidditch and the DA**

Saturday, September 6

Saturday dawned clear and sunny – "perfect quidditch weather" Harry commented to Hermione as they went out for their running. Ginny, Ron, and Neville joined them and they set out around the lake. As usual, their respective paces eventually separated them and after a while Harry and Hermione were running alone. Hermione was unusually quiet this morning, apparently lost in thought, so after receiving her assurance that she was OK Harry left her alone and dropped back to run with Ron and Ginny for a while. They were both wearing their new exercise clothing today. Harry made sure to tell Ginny how good she looked in it, and was rewarded with a big smile and a quick kiss on the cheek.

At the halfway point Hermione was waiting for them, having evidently resolved whatever was on her mind, and the four of them chatted amiably for the rest of their run. Harry could sense, though, that she wanted to talk to him so at the end of the run they excused themselves and went back to the Heads suite, agreeing to meet for breakfast later.

"Harry, I was wondering," Hermione started. Harry let her know he was paying attention and motioned her to continue. "What do you think of the idea of me playing quidditch?"

Harry's first impulse was to laugh, but he managed to control that successfully. Given the amount of time she had obviously spent thinking about his, she was clearly serious. He was thankful that Ron was not part of this discussion, though, because his red haired friend would have been sure to make some sort of unthinking remark.

"It's fine with me," he answered. "But what's with the sudden interest in quidditch? You've barely tolerated it in the past."

"Well, the whole point is to get more students involved, isn't it? I think it would be a good example of what we're trying to accomplish if I played, too. Besides, it's not like I don't know how to play. You three managed to drag me into a lot of games last summer. And I wasn't that bad, was I?"

"No, actually," Harry admitted. "The two of us held our own reasonably well against Ron and Ginny didn't we?"

"So you think it's OK? I'm afraid people are going to laugh at me. Will you back me up?"

Now Harry realized the real reason why they were having this conversation. For all the progress she had made this summer, Hermione still had her insecurities. "Of course I will," he answered quickly. "You know you can count on me." He was rewarded with a bright smile from his relieved friend and a quick hug. "Maybe we can have some fun with it, though." Hermione's eyes lit up and they soon had a plan to tweak their friends a little.

-----

That afternoon they joined the stream of students heading out to the quidditch pitch. Ron and Ginny were proudly carrying their new Firebolts, basking in the awe of the other quidditch players as Harry and Hermione joined them, Harry with his trusty Firebolt and Hermione with her new Silver Arrow Mark II. As expected, their classmates' eyes widened in astonishment, none more so than Ron and Ginny.

"Her..Hermione? You…you're going to try out?" Ron's reaction was almost comical.

"Well why not, Ron?" Hermione responded briskly. "After all, I've been watching you and Harry play for years. Don't you think I must know quite a bit about quidditch by now?"

Ginny turned bright red, fully aware of the reference being made to her catty comment of last spring, when she told Hermione not to embarrass herself by pretending to know anything about quidditch. While she had been trying to defend Harry at the time, she knew it had been unfair and it had hurt Hermione. Ron didn't notice though, and continued. "Uh, OK. So … what position do you think?"

"Oh, I've given that quite a bit of thought. Keeper seems pretty easy, don't you think? I mean, all you do is sit there on your broom and knock down a shot now and then." She paused as Ron began to turn an interesting shade of purple and Ginny snorted, her embarrassment forgotten. "But then I thought about Seeker, too." This time she turned to Harry, who grinned back at her. "But it seems pretty boring. After all, they just fly around in circles for most of the game." Now Ron began to sputter and Ginny covered her mouth with her hand to try to keep from giggling. The rest of the crowd of students looked at Hermione like she had gone daft, then glanced over at Harry to see what his reaction would be. But he just continued to smile at Hermione who gave him a quick smirk and went on. "Beater would be a good way to take out your aggression I would think. Just the thing for relaxing after a tough exam wouldn't you say?"

By now Ron was beside himself. This kind of talk was almost sacrilege. Comparing quidditch to schoolwork was just plain wrong. Finally Hermione turned and smiled sweetly at Ginny. "But I think I've decided on Chaser. There's so much more thinking involved in that position, and a lot of teamwork. I think I'd enjoy that the most." Ginny could only nod, not trusting herself to open her mouth. Hermione turned quickly back to Harry. "What do you think?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Hermione. I don't know why we didn't think of that before." Ron turned to Harry in astonishment. _Hermione? Quidditch? What was he saying? What about their plans?_ His thoughts were interrupted when Madame Hooch called to him to join her on the temporary podium that had been erected on the quidditch pitch.

Now that the entertainment provided by the Gryffindors was over, everyone looked around. Hooch and Charlie Weasley had been hard at work, and had erected two practice quidditch pitches on either side of the quidditch stadium. Harry was impressed with their work, and even more impressed by the size of the turnout. He reckoned that there must be about a hundred students present.

Hooch introduced Ron as her assistant and then quickly gave the details of the revised quidditch tournament. For the first month there would be no fixed teams, with pickup games available every evening to whomever came to play. On the weekends there would be practice times for specific positions, with students free to join any group if they wanted to learn more about a position. At these times students were encouraged to work together as much as possible to improve their skills. After a month students would form their own teams and register for a tournament that would take place for the rest of the school year, with the Quidditch Cup awarded to the best team at the end of the year. The only restrictions on the teams were that the maximum number of players on a team from any house was three, and there must be at least one player from each house on each team. Up to ten players would be permitted on each team, so that there could be three reserve players. Teams were encouraged to rotate their players during each game, so that everyone got a chance to play.

Charlie then stepped up and introduced himself, then announced that there would be special instructors for each position. He himself would be instructing the seekers along with a former professional quidditch player. Immediately a hush fell over the crowd as everyone noticed several people on brooms rocketing toward the stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Viktor Krum." There was a stunned silence, then a roar of cheers broke out. "As I just stated, Mr. Krum will be helping out prospective seekers. To assist in instructing chasers and beaters, I'd like to introduce Mr. Patrick Troy of Ireland and Miss Gwenogg Jones of the Holyhead Harpies." Seamus Finnegan let out a whoop for the Irish chaser and more cheers broke out, especially among the female students for the famous beater.

"Returning to Hogwarts to help instruct keepers we have Oliver Wood of Puddlemere United." More cheers greeted Oliver as he flew into view. "And finally, we have several other former students who will be helping us out as well." A group of past Hogwarts quidditch players flew into the stadium including Fred and George, Angelina and Alicia, and Roger Davies, the former Ravenclaw captain. Another roar went up for this last bunch, and soon the students began to break up into groups, some to go to meet the instructors, some heading toward one of the practice pitches, and some clustering to begin discussing teams.

Harry moved up to greet Viktor and Troy, waved at his old teammate and captain Oliver, then mounted his broom and began flying around the pitch. Hermione and Ginny went over to where Troy was beginning to talk to prospective chasers and joined in.

As the afternoon went on, Harry kept an eye on his friends from high above the quidditch pitches. Seeker was the glory position of quidditch, and Charlie and Viktor had their hands full with eager students learning to dive after elusive snitches. Ron was with Oliver and about a dozen prospective keepers. Ginny was outpacing most of the aspiring chasers, but Hermione remained in the main pack, paying close attention to her instructors and trying to master the fundamentals of the position. She had one of the fastest brooms at Hogwarts, so in the speed tests she held her own, but she had a long way to go in learning the other skills of chasing.

Finally, it was dinnertime and the friends gathered back together and headed for the castle. Ron had finally recovered from his earlier shock, but it was obvious that he was still nervous about the thought of Hermione playing quidditch. Due to the rule limiting the number of players on a team from each house to three, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and he would not all be able to be on the same team, and he was clearly worried about who would be left out. Hermione, however, knew exactly what he was thinking and eventually let him off the hook.

"So, what did you guys think of the first practice?" Hermione asked happily. They all responded positively and Ginny congratulated her on doing pretty well as a chaser. "Have the three of you decided on who else you want to have on your team?" That brought them all to a halt. Ron and Ginny looked at her questioningly, and she laughed at the relieved expression on Ron's face.

"Don't worry, Ron, I'm not going to break up your team," she chided playfully, giving him a quick hug. "I'm just happy the three of you are finally going to get to play together for more than one game." She went on to explain. "The other seventh year prefects and I are going to form a team. We decided that it would be a great example for the rest of the school to see us working together. And we're just going to be in it for fun, so that should send a message to the other students as well, that they shouldn't be shy about forming a team just because they're not the best players."

"What positions are you going to take?" asked Ginny. "I noticed Hannah Abbott and Tracey Davis with the Chaser group."

"Right," Hermione confirmed, "the three of us are going to try chaser, Ernie MacMillan and Blaise Zabini are planning on being beaters, Anthony Goldstein will be keeper and Padma Patil is going to take a shot at seeking. But we have a month to decide, and we'll try several different positions. Maybe I can get Harry to make me into a seeker," she said, taking Harry's hand and giving him a smile. Harry just smiled back and gave her a shrug as they broke apart and headed for their dorms to get cleaned up for supper, leaving Ron and Ginny in a vigorous discussion on possible chasers and beaters for their team. Harry kept smiling as he helped her through the portrait hole into the Head suite. This was turning out great. He would be able to play one final year with Ron and Ginny, and could cheer Hermione's team on as well. And this year he would be able to relax and just play, and let Ron worry about all the details of the team.

-----

On Wednesday of the next week there was a noticeable level of excitement among a group of older students. In the Great Hall a certain scene was repeated over and over with only slight variations. "Did yours?" "Yeah, mine too." "When?" "Tonight, same place as before." The DA galleons had been activated. In the seventh year DADA class that afternoon there were a lot of knowing glances exchanged, and many thumbs up were flashed at Harry.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Neville were waiting in the Room of Requirement as the students arrived in ones and twos. Harry was amazed to see that every one of the old DA members had returned, all twenty of them, and a feeling of gratitude swept through him. This was the nucleus of the group that would go to war with him. He felt Hermione's hand give his a little squeeze, and he saw a slight smirk on her face. Even without telepathy her message came across loud and clear. "I told you so!" She knew what he had trouble realizing – that every one of these students felt that they owed a debt to Harry Potter, and were determined not to let him down.

Harry began the meeting by thanking them all for their support and began to explain their plans. The DA would meet every night during the week, and they were welcome to attend as many of the sessions as they could. He related McGonagall's instructions regarding the group and told them that they were expecting a lot of new members. All of the students who wished to join would be divided into groups according to their ability, and he expected the more experienced ones, such as them, to help instruct the others. However, one night a week would be set aside for the elite group, who would work on the most advanced spells and learn battle tactics.

The door opened again, and to the surprise and shock of several of the members, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, and Blaise Zabini entered. Immediately there was some muttering punctuated by a few cries of outrage.

"Quiet!" Even though Harry hadn't raised his voice that much, the tone of command silenced the room. "I just said that this group was open to everyone and I meant it." The three newcomers flashed a grateful look at Harry and went over to stand with some of the other students from their Potions class, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Padma Patil. Hermione joined Ernie Macmillan in walking over to welcome them as well. "Hermione gave a special invitation to these three to join us tonight. It's important that the rest of the school see that all the houses are united in this. Does anyone here have a problem with it?"

Several of them turned to look at Ron, who despised Slytherins as much as anyone in the school. But Ron merely folded his arms and moved to stand beside Harry, giving him a brief nod. Seeing that, the rest of them relaxed and turned their attention back to Harry.

"Good. Now, this group was originally formed to help us learn defense and pass our OWL's, because we had a worthless Defense professor." A lot of smiles were exchanged at that remark. The word had spread and they all knew that their defense OWL scores had been the highest in the school, despite the efforts of Umbridge. Harry exchanged a smile of his own with Ron before continuing. "But this time is going to be different. For one, we have an excellent Defense instructor this year."

"Two of them!" came a shout from the back. The rest of the group broke into laughter at the embarrassed expression that remark brought to Harry's face. He waved them off good-naturedly and went on.

"But I've learned the hard way during the last few months that there's a lot more to fighting and winning a battle than knowing a lot of spells. Some of us," here he motioned towards Ron and Hermione, "have had some training this summer and have been in a few fights. We're going to try to teach you how to fight a battle, and just as importantly, how stay alive."

"Harry?" Justin called out. "Did you guys really kill Death Eaters this summer?" The room became deathly silent as everyone awaited the response.

"Yes, we did," Harry replied in a grim voice. "More than I want to think about." Not a sound greeted this pronouncement. If everyone wasn't serious before, they were now. "This isn't a game anymore, people. It's not a bunch of students hiding from a petty teacher. It's not about passing a test. It's about surviving long enough to graduate and get on with our lives. If we can accomplish that without killing anyone, great. But the guys we're fighting against won't hold back and neither can we." Beside him Ron merely nodded, and the listening crowd remained silent, all of them asking similar questions of themselves_. When the time came, would they be able to do the same?_

After giving them a moment to digest that idea, Harry turned and walked over to an area of the room with a padded floor. The rest roused themselves from their thoughts and followed him, wondering what he had in store for them.

Harry addressed them again. "The best way to survive a battle is to not get hit. Hermione?" Hermione walked up and took a position opposite him on the padded area. Without another word Harry pulled out his wand.

"Stupefy!" A bright red streak shot toward Hermione, but she merely flicked her wand and the curse impacted against a shield that immediately appeared in front of her. Then she looked back at Harry and stuck her tongue out at him, followed by a slight tilt of her head and a saucy grin.

Jaws dropped all over the room. Hermione Granger had just openly flirted with Harry Potter in public! A dozen heads spun to look at Ginny, who was standing with her arms folded across her chest, staring straight ahead. No one could quite believe that Ginny had let Harry go so easily and most had been expecting a nasty outburst from the fiery redhead sooner or later. Perhaps this would be the time. Then something else dawned on some of the students.

"She didn't say the incantation!" called out Ernie.

"And that wand movement was different than we learned for Protego," protested Padma.

"I'm glad you noticed," said Harry, seemingly oblivious to the other item that was on everyone's minds. Those are two other things we're going to learn. Last year we started working on silent spellcasting, but not many of us got the hang of it. That's absolutely critical in a duel. And we're going to teach you several variations on the shield spell. Watch."

Harry then proceeded to hurl a variety of hexes and jinxes at Hermione, who blocked them all easily. Then he began to cast silently as well, and she had to be more alert. As he began to cast faster she was more hard-pressed, but she managed to get up a shield each time, although some were just barely quick enough.

Harry paused to give them both a little breather. They turned to see the rest of the students watching them in awe. Very few of them had been aware of just how much time the two Head Students had spent practicing during the summer, but now the evidence was before them. They all realized that none of them would stand a chance in a duel against either of these two.

"Don't worry if you don't think you can do that right now," Harry reassured them. "Hermione is better with shields than anyone I know." Glances were exchanged all around, followed by a few smiles. Same old Harry Potter. Somehow he managed to ignore his own impressive performance. "Now there's something else we need to show you," he continued. "Here's another way to avoid getting hit by a spell."

Once more he turned and cast a spell at Hermione, but this time she merely ducked. Again she gave him that little tilt of the head and a challenging grin. He shot two more at her and she leaned to the side, then hopped over the second one.

"I bet he's going easy on her just because she's his girlfriend," Michael Corner said to Terry Boot, standing beside him. Whether by design or not, everyone heard him and there was an embarrassed silence, with more students sneaking glances at Ginny. A small giggle escaped from Lavender Brown before she quickly brought up her hand to cover her mouth. Ginny turned and glared at her.

Still apparently unaware of the gathering tension, Harry looked over at Michael and grinned. "OK, let's let someone else try. Um, Ginny, could you help us out here?" There were several gasps and quite a few students unconsciously clasped their hands together. This was too good to be true. Hermione and Ginny had been acting towards each other like there was nothing out of the ordinary but they just _knew_ that there had to be some ill feeling between Harry's past and present girlfriends. Some of the students in the back began to casually move out to the sides to improve their view of the coming catfight. Still off a little by themselves, Tracey Davis and Padma Patil exchanged a look. Something funny was going on here. The Harry Potter they had been getting to know lately wasn't this dense.

With a tight-lipped smile fixed on her face Ginny moved to the front and pulled out her wand. Harry addressed the group again. "Just to make it clear, this is about dodging spells. We learned this summer that it can be an advantage to be able to evade a spell without having to cast a shield. That leaves you free to counterattack more quickly, and is less of a drain on your magic. Now, to make it interesting …" He walked up to Hermione and took her wand away from her as her eyes widened. Several of the students watching closely noticed that Hermione now showed signs of nervousness.

Harry went back toward Ginny. "Ginny, have you been practicing your spellcasting accuracy?"

Ginny didn't take her eyes off of Hermione, but a predatory grin formed slowly on her face. "You bet I have."

"Just a minute, Harry," called out Hermione. Everyone turned to see what she wanted and were amazed to see her pull her robes off over her head. Underneath she was wearing one of her exercise outfits, with stretch leggings and a T-backed scoop necked tank top. This action was greeted by an assortment of gasps and murmurings.

Two thoughts dominated the minds of the onlookers. "Wow, check out Hermione!" was all that the male brains could process, while the female brains went a little further and added, "where can I get an outfit like that?" Harry was having a difficult time keeping a straight face and a glance over at Ron didn't help any. His redheaded friend was grinning from ear to ear. Another glance at Ginny showed her struggling to keep a frozen smile in place, twitching a little with the effort.

"Ginny, use mild bludgeoning hexes, OK?"

"I'll use whatever hex I feel like," she snapped, having finally lost the battle to keep her expression neutral.

"You'll use what I tell you to use." Suddenly Harry's voice was icy cold. Blazing brown eyes locked with glowing green ones for a moment before Ginny smiled and replied in an overly sweet voice. "Whatever you say, Harry."

She turned to face Hermione and immediately fired off a bludgeoning hex, hoping to catch the older girl unaware. Hermione dodged it with ease and gave her the same saucy grin she had given Harry. Red faced, Ginny cast again and once more Hermione dodged, twisting her body out of the way and then the one-sided duel was on in earnest. For several minutes Ginny kept up a steady stream of hexes while Hermione jumped, twisted, ducked and rolled out of the way. Initially none of the onlookers made a sound, being completely amazed at what Hermione was doing. They all knew Ginny was athletic, and if the pair of girls had reversed roles, they might have been able to accept what they were seeing, but they were all blown away by the presumed bookworm's physical prowess. A few of the clever ones like Padma and Tracey were beginning to understand that Harry had done this intentionally. If someone as non-athletic as Hermione could learn to dodge spells like this, any of them should be able to do it. Then Harry began to shout encouragement to Hermione and the rest of them followed suit, cheering for both girls.

Finally Hermione appeared to tire and Ginny connected with a spell, hitting her in the hip when she couldn't lean out of the way in time. Hermione flew off her feet and everyone winced as she hurtled toward the floor. But just as she was about to hit she tucked in and rolled once before coming to a stop.

Before she had even hit the floor, though, Ginny was hurrying forward in concern for her friend, dropping to her knees in front of her. "Hermione, are you OK?" she gasped. Surprisingly, Harry moved calmly up to her and merely reached out his hand. Sitting up quickly, Hermione smiled at him and took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. They shared a look that communicated without words their secret knowledge – her magical necklace had absorbed most of the spell.

Harry smiled back and pulled her into a short hug, whispering "Great job!" before backing away and facing the stunned students once more. "And now," he commented wryly, "you see the other lesson for today. Learn how to fall without getting hurt."

No one said anything as the students stared at him, then looked at Hermione, then Ginny, then back and forth between the two girls a few more times. Hermione had moved over to the shorter girl and given her a quick hug to show she was OK, and the two of them were grinning at each other. Suddenly Ron started clapping and was joined immediately by Neville, then Luna. Soon nearly everyone was laughing and cheering, realizing they had been had, although there seemed to be a little disappointment on Lavender's and a few others' faces. Before the applause had died down Ginny had removed her robes to reveal an outfit similar to Hermione's, and Ron and Harry had likewise stripped to tee shirts and sweat pants.

In order that the ogling wouldn't get out of hand (from both sexes) Harry and Ron took the guys and Hermione and Ginny took the girls and they split up as the four of them spent the next hour first demonstrating how to fall, then tips for how to dodge. By the time the session was over the whole DA was tired and sore, but excited. All of them agreed that this had been the most unusual defense lesson they had ever had.

At the end of the period Harry had one more thing to say. "There is a good possibility that sometime during this year we are going to be in a position where we are fighting for our lives. When that happens you have to be able to trust the person fighting next to you completely. There is absolutely no room in a battle for personal problems or hurt feelings. All that stuff gets left at the door when you come in here. If you can't do that then stay out of the fight. Does everyone understand this?" There were a lot of embarrassed looks and sheepish nods.

"I'm not saying you have to be best friends with everyone in here." Harry deliberately avoided looking at anyone in particular when he said this. Frankly, there were one or two students here that annoyed him but he needed to make this point. "But we're going to be forming small teams that will fight as a unit and you do need to be completely comfortable with the other members of your team. Keep that in mind and be sure to let us know when we form the teams if there's going to be a problem." Wanting to end on a positive note, he concluded, "OK, great job everyone and we'll see you next week."

Before everyone left, Hermione took care of some business, explaining the newest version of the loyalty charm (quite a few people shuddered at hearing the consequences but everyone signed eventually) and getting commitments to assist in training the new students for each night of the week. While she was doing this, Padma, Ernie, Tracey, Daphne, and Blaise came over to where Harry was conferring with Ron. Tracey first addressed Ron.

"Thanks for accepting us. If someone with your history can accept students from Slytherin house, maybe there's hope for the rest of the school."

Ron nodded to her, and then to Blaise and Daphne. "I guess Harry and Hermione are having an influence on me, but we all had to do some growing up this summer. The three of us nearly died …" he glanced at Harry who shook his head slightly. "… nearly died more than once in Death Eater attacks and that sort of gives you a different perspective on things. In the past I would have blamed all Slytherins for those attacks just because some of the attackers were from your house. But these two and Professor McGonagall finally made me realize that I can't lump everyone together like that. So if Harry trusts you, and Hermione … well if you signed her parchment then you … believe me, you do not want to cross that girl. So I suppose I can accept you as well."

"Who are you and what have you done with Ron Weasley?" Tracey laughed. Blaise was chuckling too as he reached out and shook Ron's hand.

Before releasing Blaise's hand Ron looked him in the eye and said in a low voice, "now, I heard that you had something to say about my sister."

"What _about_ your sister, Ronald?" came the annoyed voice of a petite redhead who had just walked up behind them. Harry slowly backed away as Ron and Ginny squared off, with Neville, Ernie, and Blaise looking on in apprehension. He turned to see that Tracey, Daphne, and Padma were still with him.

"That was quite a show you three put on earlier. Was the whole thing orchestrated?" asked Padma as Tracey regarded him with a smirk.

Harry raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Watch it Potter," Tracey teased. "That sounds rather Slytherin of you."

"Would it surprise you if I told you the Sorting Hat almost put me in Slytherin?"

Once again jaws dropped. Daphne regained her speaking ability first. "No way! The Gryffindor Golden Boy a Slytherin?"

Now it was Harry's turn to smirk. "Maybe the differences between the houses aren't as big as you think they are." And on that note he left his new friends still gaping at him and rejoined Hermione who had finished her paperwork and was waiting by the door. Taking her hand, he looked back over his shoulder and gave them a wink, then disappeared.

---------------

A/N For those of you who still think Hermione's afraid of flying and would never play quidditch, please read the beginning of chapter six of Half Blood Prince. Although JK calls her dreadful, she and Harry were 'reasonably well matched' against Ginny and Ron. Of course that's ridiculous – Ginny and Ron would cream Hermione and Harry – but there it is. She is clearly willing and able to play the game.


	5. Birthday Treat

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

On the other hand, the first year muggleborn students mentioned in this and some of the other chapters are my three daughters. J. K. can't have them.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

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**Chapter 5, Birthday Treat**

September 12

Hermione accompanied Harry again to his Friday meeting with Viktor. It seemed that all of the girls in the DA were interested in having exercise clothing like she and Ginny had worn, and had asked her to buy some for them. She stayed in the control center only long enough to say hi to Viktor and to talk with Mrs. Creevey for a bit, then told Harry to meet her at Harvey Nichols when he was finished.

This week Viktor introduced Harry to Major Thompson, whose son was a fourth year Gryffindor, and who was currently on leave from the army so that he could aid their cause. He and Viktor had been discussing battle tactics and quickly filled Harry in on their conversation. The major's biggest worry was that the Death Eaters would catch on to what they were doing and set an ambush. Viktor was planning to adjust his tactics accordingly, sending in some scouts along with the first pair of house elves, and having them apparate in further away from the attack site. Their response time would be cut down, but if they could spot the ambush they could turn the tables.

Next the discussion turned to weapons and tactics that could be used against other dark creatures. The twins, with Hagrid's help, had finished a prototype of a crossbow that would shoot wooden spears for use against vampires. The trick would be to get troops armed with these weapons to the site of vampire attacks in time to counterattack.

Giants were another problem entirely. Viktor had been receiving reports from the continent about Voldemort's recruiting efforts among them, and he was expecting an attack in about a month's time. The good news was that not very many of the large creatures had joined the dark forces. Viktor estimated about a dozen or so. Harry decided that the DA would need to begin training to fight against giants right away.

At this point Major Thompson produced a brochure about a weapon he thought would be useful. It was a MILAN shoulder fired antitank missile, and its shaped charge armour piercing projectile could take out a large tank. They had been widely used by the British army and others, but had been replaced a few years ago by a different model. Even so, there were thousands still stockpiled in Britain and across Europe. The problem was how to obtain some. He informed them that anything could be had from the black market arms trade for a high enough price, but he would be risking his career and prison time if it were discovered that he was involved. He hastened to add, however, that it was a risk that he was prepared to take. Harry thought a minute, then turned to Remus.

"Didn't you tell me that Kingsley had some kind of assignment in the muggle government?"

"That's right. I'm not sure of the details, but he's some sort of personal assistant to the Prime Minister." The major's eyes lit up. If he had access to the Prime Minister, he could easily get authorization to requisition a load of these launchers and replacement rockets from his military base. It was also possible that they could bring some of Viktor's men in for training. He cautioned them that the men would have to be able to pass for muggles. Harry nodded and told Viktor not to bother with any purebloods, recalling Ron's experience from the summer. With any luck they would find a few muggleborns in his strike force, or they could recruit some specifically for this mission.

When they were finished Harry went back into the control room and visited briefly with all of the personnel on duty, thanking them for their help. After asking Viktor to say hi to Fleur for him, he and Remus returned to the arrival/departure floor and parted company.

-----

It didn't take Harry too long to find Hermione in the store. He couldn't resist a smile at seeing her loaded down with all kinds of styles and colors of stretch tank tops. She returned him a smirk and immediately dumped an armful of the brief garments on him and went back to the racks to look at more. Just as he had last week, Harry frequently suggested some of the skimpier styles. After Hermione's third glare he shut up and contented himself with visualizing Lavender, Susan, or Daphne in some of the tops. After a while Hermione noticed his dazed expression and whacked him on the back of the head. Harry slumped guiltily in his chair rubbing his head and thought ruefully that having a mental connection with Hermione wasn't always an advantage.

-----

The two head students returned in time for lunch, and as they walked into the Great Hall they thought it strange that so many of the older students were looking at them and grinning.

"Do I have something on my face?" whispered Hermione. Harry assured her that she did not, and realized that she was right – the students were looking at her, not him. As they sat down at a table with some fourth years (Harry was trying to see if he could recognize Major Thompson's son) two of them giggled and looked quickly away. Harry and Hermione turned perplexed faces to each other and shrugged.

"Harry!" Ron called out, approaching with nearly all of the seventh year Gryffindors trailing after. "Hermy! How have you been?" Hermione's eyes darkened as she shot Ron a killing glare, but the rest of the Gryffindors burst into laughter. Glancing around, Harry noticed most of the sixth and seventh years from the other houses joining in.

"OK, guys," he said, standing up and getting between Ron and Hermione before she could hex him. "What's this all about?"

"Oh, we ran into a friend of yours today in Care of Magical Creatures." Harry was as perplexed as ever but Hermione buried her head in her hands and groaned.

Ron's grin was as wide as ever as he continued. "Hagrid brought his brother to class today. You know him? Big guy named Grawp?" A fresh wave of laughter elicited another groan from Hermione. Harry was fighting to keep a smile from his face as he realized what was coming next. "It seems that he was anxious to see one student in particular, but he couldn't seem to find her. With each class that Hagrid taught this morning he kept looking around and saying "Where Hermy? Where Hermy?"

Everyone but Hermione seemed to find this uproariously funny. Finally Ginny broke through the crowd surrounding their table and gave her a hug in consolation. Hermione looked up sheepishly; fortunately Harry had managed to fight off the grin by then and shrugged at her in sympathy. Then she sat up and glared again at Dean and Seamus, who were standing across from her and calling out things like "Hermy, will you sit with me? Hermy, do you think you can take a look at this?" Without warning her wand flicked twice and suddenly Dean and Seamus no longer had mouths. Within seconds most of the students had decided that the whole topic wasn't really that funny anymore and stumbled over themselves returning to their seats. Neville joined Ginny at Hermione's side and patted her on the back nervously before sitting down on the other side of Ginny, carefully keeping his distance. Ron somehow managed to make himself smaller than Harry as he stayed behind his friend, out of range of his other friend.

Now Harry decided it was all right to laugh and when Hermione turned her glare on him he merely smiled back at her and gestured across the table where Dean and Seamus had terrified looks on their faces and were making little moaning noises. Finally a grin broke out on Hermione's face and Harry put his arm around her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. At length everyone settled down and had a laugh and went on with lunch. Seamus and Dean – eventually – got their mouths back.

-----

The next week was a busy one for Harry. The full moon was on Tuesday, so Harry had to teach all of the Defense classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It was also the week they started the new DA. They decided to hold the organizational meetings in groups, with sixth and seventh years on Monday, fourth and fifth years on Tuesday, and the younger years on Wednesday. On Thursday the 'elite' DA, as it was to become known, met again.

They spent the first part of the meeting reviewing their notes on the abilities of the new students, and sorting them into beginner, intermediate, and advanced groups. It was decided that Ron, Hermione, Ernie, and Padma would be the primary instructors for the advanced group, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah would take the intermediate group, and Colin, Justin, Susan, and Anthony Goldstein the beginners. As they had promised McGonagall, Harry would spend time with all of the groups, and would determine when someone was ready to move up to another group.

The last half hour of the meeting was spent reviewing dodging and falling. Of course, this gave the girls a chance to use the new exercise outfits Hermione had picked up for them. As he watched the chaos this caused, Harry decided that it was a good thing they weren't attempting to learn anything new this week, and that falling down was about as much as some of the pureblood males could manage. Some of these outfits were nearly as effective as a stunning spell. Of course, it was his job to circulate and watch everyone closely and to give pointers when necessary. He pretended not to notice the glares being sent his way by Ginny and Hermione as he paused occasionally to appreciate the form being displayed by some of the witches during their evasive maneuvers.

When everyone else had gone, Harry noticed Hermione and Ginny waiting for him with annoyed looks on their faces. Ron and Neville, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, were hanging back, letting Harry get out of this one on his own. Gryffindor courage only went so far, after all. Harry, however, plunged right in.

"I've completed my study," he announced cheerfully as he approached the two females. This took them by surprise and whatever they had been about to say was temporarily forgotten as they waited for him to continue. "After careful examination of all the evidence I have concluded that the two of you look better in those outfits than any other girl in the class." He watched as several expressions flickered over each of their faces at these words. Ginny ended with a shy smile while Hermione dropped her head and just shook it, chuckling slightly.

"Nice one, Potter," she said in reluctant admiration. "I guess spells aren't the only thing you're good at dodging." Beyond the two girls Neville silently applauded, but Ron had a puzzled look on his face.

"Are you kidding, mate? Did you see Susan? And Daphne, wow!" His eyes took on a faraway look, which unfortunately ended rather abruptly when his sister reached up and smacked him. The rest of them burst out laughing and Harry felt a rush of gratitude toward his best friend. With all the changes that had happened in their lives and relationships during the past three months it was nice to see that Ron could still be good old clueless Ron sometimes. He decided to let his friend off the hook.

"Honestly, Ron," he began, deliberately mimicking Hermione, "haven't you noticed yet what type of girls I'm attracted to? Look at who I've dated." He began to check them off on his fingers. "Let's see, Parvati, Cho, Ginny, Hermione." Hermione's eyes widened at being included on that list, and Ginny's eyebrows raised as well, but she just nudged the older girl and gave her a little grin, realizing that Harry was winding her brother up a little. "What do they have in common?" Ron's perplexed look remained and Harry grinned. "They're all pretty, all smaller then me, and all have nice slender figures. And they're smarter than me as well," he added, and he smiled and put an arm around each girl's waist and gave them both hugs.

Neville nodded in agreement but Ron just shook his head muttering one of his favorite expressions. "Mental." This got the rest of them laughing again as the five friends exited the room and happily returned to their dorms.

-----

Because of all of the time spent on Defense lessons and with the DA, Harry didn't have any time to hang out with his friends or go to any of the quidditch practices that week. Ron assured him that it was OK, and that he and Ginny were carefully checking out the other players. They needed two beaters and two chasers from the other three houses. It bothered Harry that he wasn't spending as much time with Ron this year, and he resolved to try to do something about that one of these weeks. But there was one more pressing problem that needed attention this week on top of everything else. Hermione's eighteenth birthday was on Friday and he wanted to do something special for her this year. An idea had been developing in his mind since the beginning of the month, and he had enlisted the help of Viktor after Hermione had left the previous Friday. This week the mirror that the twins had made for him to communicate with his Bulgarian friend was coming in very handy. He had also obtained the assistance of one of the Hogwarts house elves that Dobby had introduced him to. By Thursday everything was set, and the final piece dropped into place when Hedwig arrived that evening with a most special package.

-----

September 19

Hermione was having her favorite dream. Harry had once more joined her during the night, but this time he was sitting with her, holding her in his arms. His eyes were locked with hers and she could see that he was as much in love with her as she was with him. She shivered as his fingers traced up her bare arms and across her shoulders and neck, eventually stroking her cheek. One finger dropped back to her shoulder and hooked under the strap of her camisole and began slowly pulling it down her arm as he leaned in, his lips inches from hers. She closed her eyes and leaned forward to meet him, her lips parting in anticipation.

_Hermione. Wake up_. Harry slowly faded away and Hermione groaned. She lay in bed catching her breath, but refused to open her eyes yet, trying to hold on to the vision as long as possible. _Hermione. Wake up_. The voice came again and she suddenly realized that it was not out loud but in her head. _Hermione. Wake up_. It was not demanding but a friendly, soothing voice gently calling to her. Then she realized. It was Harry's voice in her mind. He had finally managed to send her specific words!

'_Harry?' _she thought back. But the voice was now silent. Then she heard footsteps followed by a knock on her door. "Hermione? Did you get that?"

Hermione jumped from her bed, grabbing her dressing gown and rushing towards her door. "Harry, you did it! I heard you in my head!" She opened the door to find him fully dressed and grinning at her like mad. He grabbed her into a big hug and whirled her around once before dropping her back to her feet. His eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"Happy birthday, Hermione," he said, stepping back. It was only then that Hermione noticed that he had decorated their common area. There were balloons and streamers and a sign magically floating above their sofa with twinkling lights spelling out _'Happy 18th Birthday Hermione!'_ In front of the sofa a table had been set up with a full spread of her favorite breakfast foods.

Tears in her eyes at Harry's thoughtfulness, Hermione turned back to him and returned his hug, holding him with her head buried in his shoulder until she managed to compose herself. This was such a sweet torture, having the man she loved treat her like this and being unable to show him just how she felt.

They sat down together on the sofa, with Harry calmly deflecting all of her protests that he didn't have to do this, then accepting her heartfelt gratitude. Hermione decided to risk another hug and kissed him on the cheek before beginning her breakfast. Everything was so wonderful and she was in ecstasy sitting here on her birthday sharing this moment with Harry. Just as she was thinking that things couldn't possibly get any better Harry pulled out a small wrapped box.

Nervously, he handed it to her and stammered, "Um, I had this made especially for you. I hope you like it."

Excitedly she tore open the wrapper to find a jewelry box. Questioning brown eyes locked on his and he tried to explain. "I wanted to get you something special, that would say something significant about what we've been through together. It's … well just open it and I'll explain."

Hermione opened the box to find a beautiful silver charm bracelet with about half a dozen charms attached. "Oh Harry, it's gorgeous," she gasped. Harry scooted closer as she picked it up to admire it.

"When I first got the idea for this bracelet I wanted to find charms that would have some meaning to them. Then I thought of getting one to commemorate each year we've known each other." He carefully picked up one of the charms and brought it closer to them. "This one's a troll. I guess it's not too hard to figure that one out," he grinned. She smiled back at him in agreement. When she was twelve she had thought that had been the most romantic thing she could imagine – Harry Potter jumping on a troll's back to save her life. From that moment she had determined to make him part of her life. Eventually she had come to realize what he perhaps had not, that he had saved her life in another way that day. It had led to the beginning of the closest friendships she would ever have.

After giving her a moment to examine the troll and sort through her thoughts, Harry selected the second charm. It looked like a large snake. "This one is supposed to represent the basilisk from second year. I know you weren't with me when I killed it, but I do remember how we worked together to solve the mystery, and you were the one who finally figured out what it was." Hermione found herself becoming too choked up to respond, and was only able to smile at him and nod.

"At that point I realized that I had two magical creatures, so I tried to follow that pattern for the rest. The one for third year is a hippogriff. I guess I could have picked something else, like a dog for Sirius or a wolf for Remus, but this was something that was just the two of us – freeing Buckbeak and riding him together." He paused a moment and continued. "It may sound silly but riding him with you holding on to me was …" he trailed off and looked at her again. She suddenly had a lump in her throat. That ride was burned forever in her memory – how scared she had been initially and how it had changed into a feeling of being safe as she wrapped her arms around him. How she was finally able to open her eyes and was even calmed down enough by his presence that she could pull out her wand and unlock the window of the room where Sirius was being held. His eyes were still on her and she could feel how close he was to her right now. For a brief instant she thought he was going to kiss her. She shivered and the spell was broken. He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it as though to warm her and then looked down quickly.

"For fourth year I picked out a dragon," he said, fingering the next charm. "This was the easiest one of all – after the troll of course."

"Why not a mermaid?" She thought she knew but she was interested in his explanation. She guessed that it was because he didn't want to remember the second task as much since she had been with Viktor then.

"Because for the first task and the time before it you were the only one who believed in me. It seemed like it was just you and me against the whole world. From the day after my name came out of the goblet when you brought me the toast up until the day of the task, you never doubted me, never left me. And you never stopped trying to help me, even staying up all night to help me learn the summoning charm. Getting past that dragon was as much of a team effort as anything we've ever done together … Are you OK?"

Hermione was just sitting back with tears streaming down her face, even though her eyes were sparkling and she was smiling brightly. Not able to resist the nervous look that had crept onto his face, she leaned forward and grabbed and hugged him as hard as she could.

"Oh, Harry. How do you expect me to keep from crying when you keep saying such nice things about me?" He didn't really have an answer for that so he just kept hugging her. Although he had once been panicked whenever confronted by a crying girl, the way to deal with them was one of the things he had learned this past summer. It was simple really. You just hugged them. He held her until he could feel her starting to calm down, then pulled back and smiled again.

"Are you ready for the rest?" Her eyes still glistening slightly, she smiled back and nodded. This time she laid her head back against his chest, turning it to the side so she could see the locket and he kept one arm around her.

"The one for fifth year is a thestral." She nodded. He didn't have to explain that either. She found herself wishing that she had ridden behind him on that ride also. That had easily been the scariest thing she had ever done. If she had had him to hold on to it would have been so much better. And maybe they could have talked about what they were doing, planned a bit. Maybe … But it did no good to dwell on the 'what if's' of life. At any rate, that ride and the battle that ensued had marked another turning point in their lives. It had been the first time they had faced combat together and worked as a team. And held their own. She shook off these thoughts. It was still her birthday and there were more charms to go.

She looked back at the bracelet and noticed there was an empty space after the thestral, and there were two more charms on the other side. "The other two charms are an owl and a cat. I didn't want Hedwig or Crookshanks mad at me if I got all of these creatures but didn't remember them," he joked. Then he got serious. "I … I couldn't really think of one for sixth year. I thought maybe we could figure out one together."

Hermione thought about the bracelet and what he was showing with it. Everything on it was symbolic, not just of the year but of something about their relationship. She remembered sadly that they hadn't really had much of a relationship sixth year, and there really wasn't much to commemorate. Then it came to her.

"For sixth year it should be a book." She could see he was puzzled. "For the potions book. For the Half Blood Prince." He winced and shook his head.

"But that book was terrible. It practically ruined our relationship," he objected.

"No, we let it ruin our relationship. That's what I want to remember about that year. Remember it so that we don't let something like that happen again. By remembering what that year was like it will help us make sure we never allow anything, no matter what it is, come between us again."

This time Harry had a few tears in his eyes. He nodded and pulled her into another hug, and suddenly all the feelings she had for him welled up in her again. "Harry, I don't ever want to lose you again. I couldn't bear it." And then, for one of the few times in her life, Hermione let her emotions take over. Without thinking about what she was doing she pulled his head down and kissed him. And not a friendly kiss either but a hard, passionate kiss.

And he kissed her back.

But after a few seconds her rational side managed to regain control and she jumped up, terrified at the implications of what she had just done. "Oh … oh, I'm … I'm sorry," she began stammering. "I didn't … I mean …"

But Harry just stood there breathing heavily, with a startled look that gradually faded into one that was thoughtful, yet slightly nervous. "No, no, that's OK. That's OK. I … I enjoyed it. But it's OK because it's your birthday, right? It's your birthday and that makes it OK. Like on my birthday Luna and Fleur kissed me like that, remember?" He began to pace back and forth, repeating the argument to himself.

Hermione relaxed in relief. If he wanted to rationalize it like that it was fine with her. She reached out and caught his arm to stop his pacing and nodded to him and gave a reassuring smile, letting him know he was right, then sat down and picked the bracelet back up. Not only was it beautiful, but now that he had explained what it meant it was the most precious thing she owned. She couldn't imagine a better birthday present from him. Well, maybe an engagement ring but she knew that was never going to happen.

Her mind went back to the kiss, wondering if she would ever get a chance to kiss him like that again. It had been so wonderful, immediately moving to the top of the scorecard they had been joking about on the first day of classes. But she knew she might never get another kiss like that from him so she would just have to remember that one. She wished she had a pensieve. _But maybe, next birthday? That was so long away. What about Christmas?_ Oh, she had to get a grip on herself, she was acting like a love-struck schoolgirl! But she couldn't help wondering – if not Harry, would there ever be another man who would ever kiss her like that?

Harry's burst of nervous activity had died down. During that period he had cleaned away all of the dishes and finally he joined her back on the sofa. He smiled at her and decided to lighten the mood.

"So, what else would you like for your birthday?" Hermione was brought back from her ponderings with a start. She hadn't even noticed him sit down. She started to object that he had already done too much and certainly didn't need to give her anything else. But then he caught her by surprise yet again.

"How about a back rub?" Hermione's eyes glazed over. _How did he know how much she loved back rubs?_ Her mind drifted back to the one he had given her last month by her parents' pool. It had been heavenly.

Even though she didn't say anything, Harry could tell by the expression on her face what her answer was. He had remembered how much she had enjoyed the last massage he had given her and thought she would probably enjoy another one. He scooted back on the sofa and had her sit in front him on the front edge. Pulling her dressing gown down to her waist to expose her camisole pajama top, he began massaging her neck, then worked his way down to the tops of her shoulders, but the camisole's straps were in the way.

"Will this stay up if I slide the straps off?" Hermione was snapped out of the dreamy state she had already entered and turned and smiled at him, shaking her head. Then she thought a moment and slid the straps down her arms, raising her hands to the top of her chest to hold the garment in place. As his hands kneaded the tops of her shoulders and moved down her back to her shoulder blades she closed her eyes again. This was sheer bliss.

"Hermione?" She jerked back into consciousness once more and noted the strained tone of his voice. "Your hands are slipping." She looked down to see that her hands and the top she was holding had slid down almost all the way off of her breasts, leaving them nearly completely exposed. She could feel Harry behind her, his hands down to the middle of her back but carefully leaning back to avoid the temptation of looking over her shoulder. She could just imagine how red he was, and briefly considered teasing him by pretending to turn around. She quickly banished that thought. _Why would she want to do anything that might make him stop this wonderful massage?_ She pulled the top back up and thought a moment.

"Get up and turn around."

Obediently, Harry stood and faced the other way. Quickly Hermione pulled the camisole top off completely and laid it on the sofa, then lay down on top of it. "OK, ready," she called back over her shoulder. Harry grinned at her practical solution to the problem and crawled up behind her, in much the same position as he had been in for the massage during the summer, and began to massage her now completely bare back. Once more she closed her eyes.

Just before she drifted off to sleep she thought she felt a soft kiss on her shoulder and a whisper in her ear. _'I love you Hermione.' _ But it was probably just the dream again. Smiling in anticipation, she allowed herself to relax and enjoy her favorite dream.

-----

Hermione awoke to find herself alone in the common room of the Heads suite, lying on the sofa topless. Crookshanks was lying beside her staring at her. She got the distinct impression that he was telling her that now it was his turn to get his back rubbed. It took her a moment to recall exactly how she had come to be in this position. The still flashing sign above her and the balloons and streamers were big clues. Next she spotted the bracelet still lying on the table in front of the sofa and smiled. Trying to remember what had been a dream and what hadn't, she sat up and pulled her camisole pajama top back on. Then she noticed a note on the table.

_Gone running. It's your birthday so you get the day off. See you at breakfast. Hope you had a pleasant dream. It looked like it; you never stopped smiling._

Hermione laughed out loud, thinking about the situation. What would anyone say if they knew that she had been lying on the sofa of their common room topless, and her 'boyfriend' had just walked away without doing anything in the least bit improper? Well, as long as you didn't count giving her the most wonderful feeling that she ever had in her life. She carefully put the bracelet around her wrist and went back into her room to get dressed.

-----

Hermione was still smiling when she entered the Great Hall. She supposed that Ron and Ginny hadn't come back yet from running with Harry, and grimaced inwardly at the thought of the ribbing she was going to get for skipping her morning exercise. She joined Luna, Padma, and Hannah at one of the tables. It was only a matter of seconds before they spotted her bracelet.

The rest of the breakfast period was never ending succession of squeals as it seemed half of the girls at Hogwarts wanted to come up and see her bracelet. Her closest friends understood the symbolism of some of the charms, with Luna being the only one who knew about the thestrals, but no one got them all. Hermione just gave them a mysterious smile when they asked. She was perfectly happy to keep it that way, with Ron and Ginny the only ones besides her and Harry who would understand all of the charms, and even they might not realize all of the significance that Harry had intended.

Eventually Ron and Ginny came in and immediately demanded to see the charm bracelet. They had persuaded Harry to tell them what he had given her while they were out running. Ginny shuddered when she realized that the snake was a basilisk. That was not a memory she would have chosen for a charm bracelet. Ron thought that the charm for third year should have been a Firebolt, and first thought that the dragon stood for Norbert. Ginny immediately figured out Hedwig and Crookshanks and thought that they were cute.

Ron then handed Hermione a present that was from both him and Ginny. She opened it to find a lovely new set of multicolored quills and fancy parchment and she thanked them happily, giving them both hugs. Ginny pointed out mischievously that they had given her extra red ones for grading transfiguration homework, which elicited groans from everyone else at the table.

When Harry finally came in he was the subject of a large number of admiring glances from the girls, along with many sighs. Few of them could imagine having a boyfriend do something so romantic. This led to a number of envious looks from the more perceptive guys.

-----

Ginny was trying hard not to be jealous. It wasn't so bad until all the girls had started going on and on about how romantic it was. It was hard not to compare Hermione's bracelet with her birthday present. There was not much romance in a Firebolt. She berated herself for thinking that. Harry wasn't officially her boyfriend, so he could hardly give her a romantic present. And the Firebolt had probably cost ten times as much as that bracelet. And Hermione had been his best friend for six years. She was entitled to something nice. If Ginny could just keep telling herself all of these things she would be all right. Once again she cursed the whole situation that was keeping her and Harry apart.

After breakfast Ginny headed off to Care of Magical Creatures, and to her surprise Hermione joined her. The older witch explained that she wanted to talk to Hagrid and Grawp, and Ginny teased her a little about her giant friend. Hermione just took it in stride today. Nothing could spoil the good mood she was in. Ginny noticed that Hermione still hadn't stopped smiling. _The girl was positively glowing, for goodness sakes. It was almost like she was in love._

Ginny stopped abruptly in horror. _No, it couldn't be._ Hermione turned to look at her curiously and she managed to force a neutral expression to her face and begin walking again. She didn't hear a word of the rest of the conversation as Hermione told her what they were going to ask Grawp to do for them, and hardly heard anything about the Magical Creatures lesson that followed.

_Hermione in love with Harry? That would ruin everything! How could Hermione do this to her? Not that she could blame her for falling in love with Harry. Who wouldn't? He was so wonderful!_ She was frankly surprised that it hadn't already happened. Everyone knew that the two of them were perfect together. Ginny was actually getting tired of hearing it. Every time she heard yet another student commenting on how wonderful it was that the Head Boy and Girl had finally got together she wanted to scream, _"We were perfect together too!"_

_What about Harry? Was he in love with Hermione too? No, he couldn't be._ Ginny tried to relax. She told herself that there was no way Harry would be sneaking out with her every week if he were in love with someone else. He was much too honorable for that. Honor was something you could always count on with Harry.

Ginny realized the peril of her situation. She wasn't concerned about being able to compete with any other girl at Hogwarts for Harry's affection. Cho had not been a serious threat. She was all wrong for Harry. But Hermione was the one she had always worried about. Harry could easily fall in love with her. She had been a little surprised that it hadn't already happened. It was obvious during the summer after the Tri Wizard Tournament that Hermione had developed strong feelings for Harry. But over the course of the following year nothing had happened between them, as he had been stupidly hung up on Cho. Fortunately for Ginny, Hermione for some reason turned her attention to her berk of a brother last summer. She didn't really understand why – all he ever did was say stupid things to hurt her feelings. Ginny had been the loyal friend many times, consoling Hermione and reassuring her that he probably really did like her, and eventually he would get a clue. But now that possibility had ended, and apparently Hermione's thoughts were back on Harry.

She forced herself to look at the situation calmly. Hermione was just as loyal as Harry was. So much so that she could have been in Hufflepuff. (Ginny was temporarily distracted by the thought that Hermione was also brilliant enough for Ravenclaw and ambitious and cunning enough for Slytherin but pushed that aside.) Even if Hermione were in love with Harry, she would never go after him while he was with Ginny. She just needed to stick with what she was doing and he would be in love with her by Christmas.

She also realized that it would be a mistake to try to win Harry by attacking Hermione. While she may have been able to get away with that last year when the two of them weren't getting along that well, it would never work now that they were so close. Forced to choose between Ginny and Hermione, she knew that Harry might very well choose his longtime friend. Besides, Hermione was _her_ best female friend. _Would she really want to sacrifice that friendship over a boy, even Harry?_ And Ginny might have been reading the whole situation wrong. _It was possible that Hermione wasn't really in love with him!_ By the time her morning classes ended Ginny had calmed considerably.

-----

By lunchtime everyone in the castle had heard that it was the Head Girl's birthday, and there was a steady stream of well-wishers coming by her table. Many of the younger students that she had taken time to befriend brought her hastily made cards. For her the highlight was when Carolyn came over with Laura and Kristin. The Gryffindors had made her a card and the Ravenclaw presented her with a book, _Dragonflight_. It was the first in a series called _The Dragonriders of Pern_ by Anne McCaffrey that all three of them had read and enjoyed. This was a fantasy series that she had heard about but not got around to reading yet and she thanked the girls profusely. In turn they also wanted to see the bracelet and Kristin boldly asked her to explain all of the charms. Hermione just smiled as she had been doing all day and gave Harry a hug while telling them that it was something that had a private meaning between the two of them. She did point out the charms for Crookshanks and Hedwig and told them what all of the other creatures were and the girls were satisfied with that.

Hermione's eyes followed as the three of them left excitedly. She was sure that Carolyn would be headed directly to the library to try to find out the significance of the creatures on the bracelet. But there were things that you couldn't learn in a library. You had to experience them.

Life wasn't all about books and cleverness. There were more important things. Things like friendship and bravery and … she looked back at Harry … and love.

Ginny sat at the next table and endured all of this graciously. How could she complain about Harry being a sweet, caring friend? It was one of the reasons she was in love with him after all. And Hermione deserved this happiness for everything she had done for both of them. Neville, who had been keeping an eye on his 'girlfriend's' reaction all day gave her a hug and reassured her. After all, he knew quite well what it was like to be in love with a person who was with someone else.

-----

"Ginny?"

"Hmm?" Ginny raised her head slightly from where it was snuggled into Harry's shoulder.

"Thank you for the way you acted yesterday."

Ginny's eyes widened and she swallowed hard, staring into the fire. "Um, what do you mean?"

"Thanks for being so understanding of all the attention I was paying to Hermione yesterday. I imagine it wasn't that much fun for you."

"Oh. It was … no problem really. I understood, it being her birthday and all."

"And thanks for being willing to put our date off until tonight so I could spend her birthday with her. She really appreciated it, too." Harry had taken Hermione out to dinner in Hogsmeade, and she had also been able to call her parents on her cell phone. She had been so excited to hear their voices, and they had talked for more than an hour.

"That's all right, Harry. I know how much she means to you."

"You mean a lot to me too, Gin."

Ginny raised her head so that she was looking directly into Harry's eyes. "I know." She leaned forward and caught his lips with hers into a long, slow, gentle kiss, then contentedly returned her head to its original location on his shoulder. Right where it belonged.

---------------

A/N 1 Several reviewers have asked why there isn't more happening in the war. The war is still going on, but it's not Harry's fight right now. Fighting the war is Krum's job, although Harry checks in with him regularly about how it's going. Unless the Death Eaters attack Hogwarts or Hogsmeade, Harry isn't going to be involved. Everyone has their job to do and Harry's job is preparing, both himself and the DA.

It was the same way in Book Six, where Harry wasn't involved until Hogwarts was attacked. Pretty much the only reference to the fighting in that book was checking the _Daily Prophet_ to see who died. I found that rather morbid.

A/N 2 I've written and posted a very short piece called 'Greater Love' that you might want to take a look at. It is how I think this story would turn out if it didn't have a happy ending.


	6. Hidden Things Are Revealed

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 6, Hidden Things Are Revealed**

Saturday, September 20

"Harry Potter."

Harry and Ginny had just returned from the Room of Requirement and were talking with Hermione and Neville in the Heads suite prior to Ginny and Neville's return to Gryffindor Tower when the voice came over Harry's mirror.

With a worried glance at Hermione, Harry pulled one of his mirrors from a pocket and replied.

"Viktor Krum."

The face of the world's greatest seeker appeared in the small mirror. "Harry! I have important information for you. There was a major attack today, the biggest of the war so far. I must tell you of it and you must pass the word to the others at Hogwarts."

Harry turned to ask Hermione to get a parchment and quill but she had anticipated his request and already had them out. Then the teens sat and listened to Viktor describe the battle. A wizarding village in Wales had been the target of an all out assault by Death Eaters intent on reversing their string of recent defeats and terrorizing the wizarding world once more. Voldemort must have thrown nearly all of his force into the attack, attempting to make a statement about his invincibility. What's more, Major Thompson had correctly predicted the likelihood of an ambush.

The attack had begun with twenty Death Eaters apparating into the main street of the village and beginning to kill everyone in sight. Another fifty took up flanking positions off to either side of them and remained disillusioned, waiting for the strike force to arrive and become trapped between them. But the military strategist had devised a plan to counter the ambush. Instead of Krum's troops arriving within a minute of the start of the assault, scouts with house elves who could detect the disillusioned wizards had come in first, apparating to two points one hundred yards on either side of the attack. Once the true disposition of the enemy forces was determined the strike force along with Auror backup ambushed the ambushers. The house elves had put up anti-disapparation wards before the strike force began firing and the goblin portkey nullification charm had worked flawlessly. The main street of the village had turned into a shooting gallery and the entire Death Eater force had been killed or captured.

There had been some casualties for the Ministry forces too, but these had been much lighter since most of the Death Eaters were new recruits in their first major action. Even so, two members of the strike team and five Aurors had been killed, with another ten strike team members and twelve Aurors wounded. The Death Eaters were still being identified, and Viktor promised to have more information on that by the following morning, but at least two of Voldemort's inner circle had been taken, Rodolphus and Rastaban Lestrange. At that point Viktor had to go, citing a meeting with Minister Scrimgeour.

Once the mirror connection was closed, Harry and Hermione moved quickly. Harry floo called Professor McGonagall and asked her to get Remus and Tonks to her office as soon as possible where he would join them. Hermione called Ron on her mirror and told him to meet them at the Headmistress's office. Of course, Ginny and Neville had no intention of being left behind. Soon they were all gathered in McGonagall's office and Harry related the story, with Hermione filling in details from her notes when necessary. It was decided that McGonagall would make an announcement of the attack at breakfast the next day, stressing that it had been a major victory for the light side. Harry and Hermione would contact the prefects prior to breakfast to alert them to make sure all of the students in their houses attended.

By the next morning they had more information. McGonagall was relieved that no parents of any of the students had been killed. There were, however, quite a few former students who had lost their lives. She decided to give their names out during her announcement, but only say that they had been killed in the attack without identifying them as Death Eaters. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville found it sobering that two of their classmates were among them, Theodore Nott and Millicent Bulstrode. Also included were several former Slytherin quidditch players – Montague, Warrington, Bletchley, Derrick, Bole, and Flint.

The reaction of the students was mixed. Since all of the Voldemort supporters had been removed from the school, nearly the entire Hogwarts population was thrilled, with only a few neutral reactions. The excitement was tempered by the horrific loss of life and the destruction of the main section of the village.

This was nothing compared to the firestorm going on at the Ministry. There were still many Voldemort supporters and sympathizers filling important posts in the government and in the commercial side of the wizarding world and they wasted no time decrying the recklessness of the Ministry and their casual disregard for the life of the citizenry. The fact that virtually all of the civilian casualties were caused by Death Eaters did not seem to enter into their arguments.

But Scrimgeour had been slowly increasing his power base, and the endorsement of Potter and Krum during the summer, along with the successes of the last month, enabled him to ride out the criticism. When the _Daily Prophet_ printed an editorial critical of the Ministry forces' conduct during the battle it was overwhelmed with protests. The subsequent publication by the _Quibbler _of a story describing the Aurors in heroic terms and memorializing the Aurors killed defending society from the terrors of the Death Eaters was much more positively received. Faced with the potential defection of a large part of their subscriber base to the rival paper, the _Daily Prophet_ reconsidered its position.

Harry knew, though, that this was only one battle, albeit it a hugely successful one. The primary result would be that Voldemort would change strategies. It was more important than ever that the DA begin training to battle other dark creatures.

-----

The repercussions continued during the next week. Eventually word got out that the strike force that had been winning all of the victories against the Death Eaters had been led all along by Viktor Krum, the international quidditch star. The press was chagrined that they had completely missed that connection, being content to assume that his hiring in July had been a public relations stunt. Suddenly everyone wanted this story. By midweek Harry had another call on his mirror.

"There's a reporter who's being very persistent. I remember her being a problem during the Tri Wizard Tournament, and didn't want anything to do with her. Then she insisted that she knows you and you can trust her. She asked me to contact you and give you this message: 'I can keep a secret just as well as Little Miss Perfect.'" Viktor paused with an amused look on his face. "Now, I think I have a guess as to who 'Little Miss Perfect' might be." Harry chortled and grinned at Hermione who had just walked up behind him to listen. She rolled her eyes at him but he could tell that she was equally amused. Then the three of them turned serious and discussed the situation they found themselves in.

Harry and Hermione quickly informed Viktor about how Rita had in fact helped Harry out by writing his story in the article for the Quibbler, which had been a turning point in getting people to start believing him about Voldemort. Viktor pointed out that they needed to do something about the press and that if Rita Skeeter could be trusted, or if they had some other way of ensuring her confidentiality, she could be useful. They agreed to meet with her on Friday.

-----

That night at the Elite DA meeting Harry shared some additional information about the weekend's attack. He informed them that the Ministry had formed a special strike force to attack Death Eaters, that it was led by Viktor Krum, and that Viktor kept in contact with him about their activities. He explained, and they understood, that he couldn't tell them any details about the strike force or their strategies, but assured them that this had indeed been a major victory and that the Death Eaters had been almost completely wiped out. Once the cheering for that information died down, Harry grimly informed them that the danger was not over, but that the nature of the threat had merely changed. Now they would need to focus their training on combating other dark creatures like vampires, trolls, and giants.

The students digested this information for a while, then Zacharias Smith called out, "Harry, are you going to show us the new type of Patronus developed by the Ministry?" Everyone was instantly alert and turned back to Harry, eager to hear his response. One of the last things that he had been trying to teach them in the old DA had been the Patronus charm, but few of them had mastered it. To their surprise the question was met by derisive laughs from Neville and Ron.

"The Ministry? Hah! That new charm was discovered by Harry and Hermione!" Ron proclaimed loudly. With amazed looks the DA members whirled back to confront Harry. He looked nervously at Hermione as she came up to join him. Since the Dementor threat had been largely eliminated, he hadn't planned to work on the Patronus charm with them, but knew that now an explanation was needed.

"OK, I guess we can talk about that. Ron is right but the discovery was purely accidental. We let the Ministry take credit for it because we wanted them to get the word out to as many wizard families as possible, and well, we were trying to keep a low profile this summer while we were training." The students largely accepted that explanation, but many of them realized that there was probably more to the story.

"Fine, but let's see it," insisted Ernie, knowing how reluctant Harry was to take credit for anything.

"All right," replied Harry. "As you remember, this is what a normal patronus looks like." He raised his wand and called out the spell, sending a bright white stag careening around the room. "Now, this is the enhanced one we discovered." Flicking his wand to dispel the original image, he reached over to grasp Hermione's hand, focused his thoughts on her, and repeated the incantation. This time a larger, irridescent stag appeared and charged off into the room.

There was a brief silence, then everyone applauded and cheered as they followed the progress of the beautiful creature, straining to get a better look at it. Harry raised his wand again, directing the patronus to return and stand in front of them so they could study it.

"Hermione studied these a bit more than I did," Harry continued, "so I'll let her explain more, but one of the things about them is that they don't fade as fast as regular ones do."

"Oh, that's so romantic!" gushed Lavender. A few of the girls giggled and nodded, but most of the students looked at her in puzzlement. "Didn't you read about them?" she asked, noticing the puzzled looks. "They only form when you hold hands with someone you love!"

Harry looked helplessly at Hermione. He really hadn't wanted to get into that aspect of the charm, but knew he couldn't avoid it. Fortunately, Hermione was ready with an explanation.

"Actually, Harry and I weren't even dating when we discovered this. It works for anyone you have strong feelings for, not necessarily just romantic love. Harry and I have been best friends for a long time, and that's what triggered it. Harry would also be able to form one of these with Ron or Ginny, because he has strong feelings for them too." There were some skeptical looks at this pronouncement so Harry went over to Ginny and took her hand. After dispelling the other patronus, which was still waiting patiently for instructions, he smiled at her and called out the charm once more and again produced a glittering multihued stag.

Lavender wasn't quite convinced. "But he dated her, too. Maybe he still has a thing for her."

"Actually, I do still have feelings for Ginny," Harry responded, not wanting her to feel bad about what was being said. He gave her a little hug and was rewarded with a grateful smile. "But that's not the point. Any kind of love will work. Parents and children, brothers and sisters … look, you all know that Ron is like a brother to me, right?" He walked up to Ron and, focusing on his feelings for his best friend, repeated the process. Finally everyone was convinced, but not before one more crack by Seamus that he always suspected that there was something funny about Ron and Harry's relationship. Everyone immediately laughed at that as Ron good-naturedly threw a punch at Seamus in retaliation.

Hermione got their attention once again and explained that the enhanced patronus could only be conjured by someone who was powerful enough to conjure a normal one without assistance, but that this discovery could also be used by all of them to form normal ones. At Hermione's suggestion, Ginny joined with Ron to generate her cat, then was pleasantly surprised when Neville took her hand and produced his bulldog. Now that they all understood how it worked, Padma and Parvati combined to produce a pair of mongooses, and the Creevey brothers managed two yapping little terriers. Everyone laughed when, in lieu of any Dementors, the terriers started chasing the mongooses around. Then other students began to pair up with their best friends, and soon silvery patroni were roaming all over the room.

-----

"What?"

The question roused Harry from his thoughts. He and Hermione were sitting in their common room, busy with their classwork. Hermione was grading Transfiguration essays and Harry was reviewing the Defense lessons for the next day. Remus had been giving him more responsibility in the courses, and now Harry was teaching the second set of lessons for each class. For example, the second year Gryffindors and Slytherins had Defense together and were then followed by the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws. Remus would teach the first class and Harry the second. He had found that he enjoyed teaching quite a bit, and everyone said he was good at it. He had even wondered if he might make a career out of it someday.

Right now, though, he had been watching Hermione work, smiling as she wrinkled her forehead in concentration, or bit her lip as she pondered how to phrase a particular criticism. He realized how familiar these mannerisms of hers were, as he had watched her write essays and correct his and Ron's for six years. The thought had just struck him that they could very well be in this same position fifty years from now, if they both went into teaching, sitting together in a room preparing lessons and grading student work. Apparently, Hermione had noticed him watching her. He raised his eyebrows as though to ask her what she had meant with that question.

"You've been staring at me for the last ten minutes. What's on your mind?"

"You." That got him a raised eyebrow in return. "Seeing you work on those essays, and remembering all the times over the years when you helped Ron and me with homework." He leaned forward, his voice lowering as he got serious. "I don't know what we would have done without you. I feel terrible at the way we treated you, and took you for granted. You were always pushing us and we never appreciated it. Now I realize you were right all along. How much easier would it be for me now if I had learned everything I was supposed to back then?"

Hermione put aside the parchment she was correcting and got up to come over and sit beside him, pulling him into a hug with tears in her eyes. Once again, his words had gone straight to her heart. She had always been frustrated with the boys that they didn't see how important their studies were, and only appreciated her when they needed her to bail them out of another last minute jam. In just a few sentences he had acknowledged her concerns and validated her feelings, letting her know that she had been right all along.

Harry was somewhat surprised at the intensity of her response, but realized that she had always felt strongly about their studies. "I'm sure we never thanked you enough," he said, pulling back to look her in the eye. "Thank you. Thank you for all the times you tried to make us do what we were supposed to do, even though we didn't want to." This time he initiated the hug.

"You're welcome," came her shaky voice from somewhere near his chest. They sat there embracing for a while before she pulled away. Giving him a teary eyed smile she went over to gather up her work and returned to sit by him again, snuggling up next to him and resuming her grading.

Harry thought once again about how different this school year was from previous ones. He was working so much harder now, focusing on his studies and his training, finally putting in the kind of effort that Hermione always had. Although it was true that he only had two classes, he was excelling in them. For the first time in all the while he had been at Hogwarts, his coursework came easily to him. He had adopted Hermione's approach to studying, which meant that he had read the book for a course before classes even began in the fall, and actually practiced the spells in advance. When the class period arrived, the two of them mastered that day's spells quickly. In Hermione's case, she had actually learned at least half of the seventh year work in previous years.

For example, in Charms this year they were covering things like the disillusionment charm, which they both already knew well, and the Protean charm which Hermione had used to create the signal Galleons for the DA. They were also spending considerable time on conjuring, which the two of them had done a lot during their summer training when learning to block curses and hexes. Harry also was eager to begin learning to animate objects, like Dumbledore had with the statues in the fountain.

Transfiguration was also different because the instructor was so different. Tonks had a natural talent for the subject, and so spent most of her time on applications and little on theory, in contrast to McGonagall who had insisted on beginning each transfiguration with a lecture on theory. It was left to Hermione to ensure that the Transfiguration students mastered the theory by assigning homework on it. The big topic for seventh year was human to animal transfiguration. Two examples of that were firmly etched in Harry's memory – Krum's shark head during the second task of the Tri Wizard Tournament, and Moody's (actually Barty Crouch's) amazing bouncing ferret. He almost wished Malfoy were still in school so he could transfigure him again. Almost.

Harry knew that both of these subjects were of vital importance in battles. What he needed to work on most was recognition and speed. Figuring out what transfiguration or conjuration would be useful during a battle and performing it instantly were essential. Taking an entire class period to transfigure a kitchen utensil into a sword was unacceptable. Hermione, of course, was superb at this, and had saved their lives many times with a near-instantaneous shield. After a moment's thought, he picked up his wand, twirled it once and pointed it at a plate sitting on the table. The plate transformed into a large disk and with another flick he levitated it in front of them as if to block a spell. Harry sighed. Ten seconds – much too long. He returned the plate and canceled the spell, then began to repeat the transfiguration. Hermione looked up from her parchment to watch for a few seconds, nodding her approval. Reaching over, she gave his arm an encouraging squeeze and returned to her grading.

-----

They met with Rita Skeeter in a back room at the Leaky Cauldron. To try to keep the meeting secret, Viktor had arranged the room in advance, and at the appointed time he and Rita apparated in separately. Harry and Hermione first took the portkey to Grimmauld Place, then apparated to the twins' back room, then to the Leaky Cauldron. Rita, who was waiting impatiently for Viktor to begin, was startled when the pair suddenly appeared in front of her with almost no sound. She immediately noticed that they were holding hands.

"So, I was right about the two of you all along," she smirked, reaching for her quill. "Did Miss Granger finally make up her mind? Or is she still stringing Mr. Krum along as well." As she said this she looked from Granger to Krum with a leer. Then her face froze as she took in the expressions on everyone's face. Krum had a look that was as cold as steel, and Potter's green eyes had a glow that gave her shivers. A quick movement from Granger's wand caused her quill to vanish in a flash of flame and smoke. The uncomfortable realization dawned on her that she was in a sealed room with a man who had killed more than a few Death Eaters, and a pair of students who, if her sources were correct, were equally as deadly. A room no one had seen her enter. Swallowing hard, she decided another approach was necessary.

"Look," she said, now all business, "Like it or not, your little romance is of interest to a lot of people. But let's not worry about that right now. I know you don't like me and don't think much of my methods. But we worked together last time and I kept my part of the deal. And you know we both benefited from it. I think we can do the same again." She paused to breathe, trying to keep herself calm. So far none of them had made any further move against her, or objected to anything she had just said. After sharing a glance the three of them sat down and Potter (not Krum, a part of her mind noted) motioned for her to continue.

"I'm going to be frank with you. The _Daily Prophet_ has recently realized that it is in their best interest to support what Mr. Krum has been doing. Right now they're frantic to make it look like they're on your side. This is an opportunity for you to get your story out exactly the way you want it. And I can help you do that."

"So, what does that have to do with me?" Harry asked, his expression still not giving anything away.

"Let me tell you what I know so far. Mr. Krum suddenly appears in Britain in July for a wedding of a minor Ministry official's son. An official who he has no known connection with. His only interest in the wedding would seem to be as an acquaintance of the bride, who was a fellow contestant in the Tri Wizard Tournament. Which coincidentally Mr. Potter also participated in, and the conclusion of which led to the situation which we already addressed in our previous interview. Mr. Potter also attended that wedding, being very close to the family of the groom. Curiously, Miss Granger seems not to have been in attendance."

"Immediately following that wedding Mr. Krum decides to stay in Britain and go to work at the Ministry. Immediately following _that_, the Ministry and Mr. Potter suddenly manage to mend their antagonistic relationship and a statement is released that Mr. Potter now supports what the ministry is doing. Along with that, an improved Patronus charm is announced by the Ministry. A Patronus charm that quite a few witnesses swore to me was used at the aforementioned wedding to repel a dementor attack. And the witnesses that seemed to remember it most clearly were of the opinion that it was initiated by Mr. Potter and an unidentified blonde witch." Rita paused again. So far none of them had said a word, or given anything away by their expressions. _What had happened to the kid from two years ago whose emotions had always seemed to be on the verge of boiling over?_ She decided to continue.

"Finally, the Ministry suddenly discovers that a senior assistant to the Minister was guilty of torturing students while she was a professor at Hogwarts more than a year previously. The most prominent of those students being Mr. Potter. Now, we discover that Mr. Krum's assignment at the ministry was much more serious than anyone suspected, and he has assembled some sort of elite force that has been hunting down and killing Death Eaters for the past two months. And from what I'm seeing in this room, he's deferring to you."

Rita leaned forward putting her arms on the table and folding her hands. "The Ministry is not in the habit of suddenly spending a lot of money hiring elite fighters. And Mr. Potter inherited quite a bit of money this summer. Now, would you like me to speculate on what is going on, or would you like to give me the real story so I can report it as accurately as possible?"

A long silence followed, and there was still no change of expression on any of the three faces across from her. Just as she was about to repeat her question Granger leaned forward with a proposition of her own. But it was not at all what she had been expecting.

"Are you willing to sign a secrecy oath or would you prefer to have your memory obliviated?"

Startled, Rita first thought she must be joking, but one look at the young witch's eyes made it clear that this was no laughing matter. She had absolutely no doubt that the parchment she would sign would have some kind of devilish curse on it. _What had she gotten herself into here? _ She had been expecting another attempt to intimidate her using her illegal animagus status, not a threat as serious as this. _This Granger kid wasn't messing around this time!_ Rita glanced nervously at the door, but something about the way these three carried themselves made her realize that she would be stunned before she even got out of her chair. As she used her reporter's instincts to put together the clues from the information she had gathered earlier and what she had heard just now as well as the evidence from their body language today she arrived at a frightening conclusion. Krum and Granger would do anything for Harry Potter, including killing her if necessary.

"What do I get if I sign?"

"An exclusive story on Viktor Krum, with the final wording approved by us. Any information about Harry Potter that we want released. First crack at any other stories that may arise from the fight against Voldemort, with the same condition."

"Who are you people?"

"We are the ones who are going to defeat Voldemort once and for all."

"You really are the Chosen One, aren't you?"

"Are you going to sign?"

"I will."

-----

That night when Harry and Ginny returned to the Heads suite after their weekly secret date they were surprised to find Ron in the room. It suddenly occurred to Harry that Ron had hardly ever been to their suite, and once again he felt guilty for not spending more time with his best friend. The expressions on the faces of Ron, Hermione, and Neville, however, indicated that this was not a social call.

"Harry," said Hermione, biting her lip nervously as she approached him, "I found something I think you need to take a look at." He looked to see what she was holding as she brought it up to him. It was his mum's diary.

"I've been going back reading the parts we skipped over before and I found some passages that … well, just read them and see what you think."

Harry took the diary and settled on the sofa, with Ginny and Hermione on either side of him. Ron and Neville pulled up two chairs facing them. Harry turned to the first section that Hermione had marked and began to read.

_1 March, 1977_

_Severus Snape is starting to give me the creeps. Professor Slughorn has decided that we are the two best students in Potions and has us working at the same table. He keeps staring at me during class when he thinks I'm not looking. I don't know why he's so interested in me – after all, he called me a mudblood last year for heaven's sake._

_15 March, 1977_

_Snape is really starting to bother me now. Twice today in class he brushed up against me. James noticed and was ready to hex him until Remus stopped him. I think I need to make sure I'm not alone in the hallway down in those dungeons._

_22 March, 1977_

_This is so disgusting! Today Snape asked me out! When I turned him down he grabbed my arm. I had my wand out though and when he saw that he let go right away. I haven't learned all of those charms for nothing. He'll be in a lot of pain if he ever tries that again. I don't know if I should tell James about this or not. He'd probably do something that would get him in detention, and the Hufflepuff match is coming up._

_5 April, 1977_

_Now what am I going to do? Professor Slughorn assigned Snape and me to work together on a Potions project. I have to go to the library with him and have to spend time in the Potions classroom with him outside of class. I **don't** want to be alone with him!_

_7 April, 1977_

_I'm saved! James and his friends are going to help me out. He found me crying in a classroom and made me tell him what was wrong. He, Sirius, Remus, and Peter are going to arrange for one of them to be with me whenever I'm in the library with Snape. And can you believe this, he has an invisibility cloak! He's going to stay in the Potions classroom whenever I have to be alone with Snape. He was so nice about it, I could just kiss him! _

_I can't believe I just wrote that about James Potter, of all people. He's really changed this year. If he asks me out again I think I'll go out with him._

_13 April, 1977_

_It happened! I'm so revolted! I had to take a shower to try to get the feel of his hands off of me. Snape made a pass at me this evening while we were in the Potions dungeon working on our project. The creep waited until I had put my wand down and then grabbed me and tried to kiss me. He told me he loved me and wanted me for his own. Then he started going on about how he was a half blood himself as if that made it OK for him to want me. I tuned the rest out because that's when he tried to kiss me and I was just pushing him away. _

_Fortunately I didn't have to struggle too long because James was there under his invisibility cloak and he stunned Snape from behind, then petrified him. After that I just ran into his arms and started crying. It felt so good to have him holding me. Then he took me back to our common room. He even stopped for a while before we went through the portrait hole to let me pull myself together. We were under the invisibility cloak so no one would see us. It was so strange being under that cloak, but I hardly noticed it at the time because I was standing so close to him. My heart was still beating pretty fast. I think it was because I was still upset from what Snape did but it might have been because of James. I can't believe I'm having these feelings for him. I guess having someone save your life does that to you._

_14 April, 1977_

_James and Sirius have been plotting something to get back at Snape. They want to give him a scare as a warning to stay away from me. I overheard them talking today and said I wanted to know what they were going to do. It was me that the creep attacked after all. God, I can't believe that Snape wants me like that. It makes me shudder every time I think about it. After what he said to me last year? Actually, he hasn't said anything bad to me all of this year. I guess it's because he started to fall for me. Yecch! Why do I seem to attract all of the creeps? All except for James that is. He certainly isn't a creep, at least not anymore._

_19 April, 1977_

_I told Professor Slughorn today I refused to work with Snape anymore. I didn't tell him why, though. I couldn't stand to have anyone know what happened. All the purebloods would say I was asking for it, since I'm a muggleborn and everyone knows how easy we are. James has promised not to tell anyone either. I shouldn't say that about purebloods. James and Sirius are purebloods and they don't feel that way about muggleborns. It's just some of them._

Harry noticed that he was skipping over the entry where his dad had finally asked his mum out. He and Hermione had read that section earlier, during the summer when he first got the diary. Now that he looked closely, he realized that the parts he was reading now were very faded, whereas the other part was quite bright. He guessed that his mum had charmed the diary to highlight her favorite parts, and their eyes had caught those bits when they read through the first time. A glance up at Hermione confirmed that she knew what he was thinking and she nodded in agreement.

_25 April, 1977_

_I found out today what James and Sirius are planning for Snape. It has something to do with Remus. They aren't aware that I know, but Remus is a werewolf. I figured it out quite a while ago actually. Honestly, it wasn't that hard to put together the clues. He just so happens to get sick once a month. (And he's not a girl so that rules _that_ out.)_

_Anyway, they have some way they're going to scare Snape with Remus during the next full moon. They have somewhere he goes when he transforms and they have a plan to lure Snape there. I don't think Remus knows about their plan, though. I hope nothing goes wrong. Remus would feel so bad if he found out he injured someone while he was a werewolf. He's such a nice guy normally, you'd never know he could be a vicious creature. I hope they find a cure for him some day. You can see he's aging prematurely._

_4 May, 1977_

_James and Sirius are in _so_ much trouble. Last night was the full moon and they went through with their revenge plot. Apparently it worked perfectly. Sirius managed to trick Snape into going into some tunnel (they wouldn't tell me all of the details) and he saw Remus and was scared out of his mind before James jumped out and pulled him back. I don't think he'll be bothering me anymore._

_Professor Dumbledore is very angry with James and Sirius. And they just stood there and took the blame. They didn't mention me at all. They just said it was a prank that got out of hand. I'm so impressed that they're taking this detention and keeping quiet about the reason for it. I mean, they get detentions all of the time but still, they did this just for me. I'm going to have to re-evaluate my opinion of those two. Well, I guess I have already changed my opinion of James, haven't I?_

This was the last of the entries that Hermione had marked. Harry sat thoughtfully, and no one said anything, waiting for his reaction. First one, then the other of the two girls flanking him took hold of one of his hands and gave a little squeeze. Then he sighed and turned to Hermione.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She nodded.

Ron broke in with a touch of amusement in his voice. "Well, for those of us who don't have a magical mental connection could you say what you're thinking out loud?" Ginny frowned at this statement but kept quiet.

"Remember this summer when we were wondering why Voldemort didn't seem to want to kill my mum?" Harry began explaining. "What if it was because Snape asked him not to?"

"Why would Vol…Voldemort care what Snape wanted?" stammered Ron.

"Maybe it was part of the deal he made when he sold my parents out."

"And Voldemort likes to use muggleborn and muggle women as rewards for his Death Eaters. Expecially the new recruits," Hermione intoned grimly.

"How do you know that?" inquired Ginny

"Crabbe and Goyle," responded Hermione simply.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean …"

"Forget it. But what I don't understand is that Dumbledore said …"

"Maybe he didn't know …"

"You mean …?"

"Hold on!" Ron jumped in once more. "You two are losing the rest of us again. Full sentences please."

Harry took a deep breath and looked briefly at Hermione who nodded back at him, then began. "Professor Dumbledore told me that Snape owed my dad a debt for saving his life. And that's why he supposedly protected me here at school. But he only knew the story the way Snape told it, because my dad and Sirius never told him what really happened. But Snape knew the real reason for what they did and he knew that my dad didn't really save his life. It was all part of the prank. So that reason doesn't hold water."

"Now, the story Dumbledore told me and that I told you guys in June was that Snape changed to our side because of remorse when Voldemort killed my mum and dad. But I think he intended for my dad to get killed but not my mum because he wanted her … gah, that makes me sick! But he sure wasn't remorseful that my dad didn't die. Maybe my mum, though, in a disgusting sort of way."

"And I think he didn't treat you like he did because you reminded him of your dad, it was because your mum died to protect you and as a result he couldn't have her," Hermione added.

"Well, that at least makes sense now. He hates me because of me and not because of my dad."

No one really had a response to that. Finally Neville spoke up for the first time. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Part of me wants to go yell at Dumbledore's portrait for believing that slimeball. Maybe he should have known that whole 'owed my dad his life' story was ridiculous. I mean, in our experience when you save someone's life they end up liking you right?" He ended that comment with a little smile each for Hermione and Ginny, then raised his eyebrows at Ron. It took a moment for them to realize what he had said, then each of the girls gave him a smile and a hug, while Ron grinned.

But then Harry's face turned serious again. He sighed and then looked at each of his friends in turn. "But what good would it do, really? It's not going to bring him back. I'll let Remus and McGonagall know. Viktor too, I guess. It will be good for him to know about that in case Snape makes any trouble. What do you guys think?"

They all agreed and then decided it was time the others were getting back to Gryffindor tower. Neville and Ginny left first, since they were supposed to be on a date after all, and Harry held Ron back for a moment.

"Ron, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not spending more time with you this year," Harry said hesitantly. "I've got to try to get to Gryffindor tower more often."

"No problem mate," Ron said quickly. "I know you've been busy. As long as you show up for quidditch." He grinned back at Harry.

"Well, right, of course I'll be there for quidditch. But maybe I can stop by sometime and we can play some chess, or work on homework together or something."

"Sure, whatever you say. That would be great," Ron acknowledged. "Look, I've got to get back, all right? I'll see you guys tomorrow morning."

After Ron had left Hermione came up and hugged Harry from behind. "You OK?"

"You mean about Snape? Yeah, I guess. I mean, we already knew he was a slimy git. It is good to have that cleared up. It was really the only question we had left about the things we learned about this summer. And it's not like he ever actually did something with my mum, just … well, I don't want to think about that anymore." He turned to look at her. "I'm a little worried about Ron, though. I know I see him every day in training, but we just aren't spending any time together this year, not like we used to."

"You mean goofing off and avoiding doing homework?" Hermione asked with a smile, trying to lighten his mood a bit.

She succeeded in bringing a small grin to his face. "Yeah, that. So, do you want to sit and talk a little before bed?"

Harry and Hermione relaxed in their accustomed positions on either end of the sofa, ending the day their favorite way, just sitting and talking. Before long it was time for bed.

As Harry climbed into bed, though, he thought about Ron once more. His best mate didn't appear to be as worried about their lack of time together as much as he was. And that didn't seem like him at all. He wondered if he had done something to upset his friend, but couldn't really think of anything.

The following morning, however, those thoughts were swept from his mind with the latest news. The vampire attacks had begun.

---------------


	7. Ron's Secret

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter and making helpful suggestions.

Sorry this is a day late. ff dot net wouldn't let me log in Friday night or all day Saturday.

---------------

**Chapter 7, Ron's Secret**

At first the attacks by the vampires terrified the wizarding community, and Hogwarts was no exception. But while they were brutal, they were relatively few in number. After awhile, the initial shock wore off and the danger was put into perspective. Every few days, a few more people died. Soon students realized that they were not much different than the Death Eater attacks that had gone on during the previous year. Once this happened, the students were able to ignore them for the most part and focus on more immediate concerns. As September turned into October, two topics began to dominate the conversations of the Hogwarts students. Quidditch and the Halloween dance.

Ron and Ginny had selected the remainder of their teammates and introduced them to Harry. For the beaters they had two fifth year Hufflepuffs, Dan Jacob and Reggie Mitchell. Ginny had picked out a sixth year Ravenclaw named Jenny Troutman for one of the chasers and Travis Davis, a fourth year from Slytherin and the younger brother of Tracey Davis, had agreed to be their other chaser. Ginny would be the reserve seeker, and they had also lined up a reserve beater and two reserve chasers, one of whom was also the reserve keeper.

In all ten teams had been formed, meaning that the new format had succeeded as well as they could possibly have hoped. Their former Gryffindor teammates, Demelza Robbins, Jimmy Peakes, and Ritchie Coote, had got together with some of last year's quidditch players from other houses and looked to be one of the better teams. As Hermione had indicated, the other seventh year prefects had a team of their own. She had coaxed Harry into going out with her and Padma several times to practice seeking and they had eventually concluded that she preferred being a chaser and that Padma was more suited to being a seeker.

Due to the number of teams, Ron, Charlie, and Madam Hooch decided to have two divisions of five teams each that would play a round robin schedule, with the winners from each division meeting for the Quidditch Cup. Harry was relieved that the prefect team was in the other division. That meant that they wouldn't have to play each other and that he could root for Hermione and his other friends and they could root for his team.

With this setup there would need to be twenty matches plus the final. It was decided to schedule one match a week every Saturday starting in mid October. Allowing for some weeks off during December and January for bad weather, they would finish in May, with the Quidditch Cup final played the first weekend in June. It was shaping up to be a very interesting quidditch season.

In the interest of fairness, and to keep things in perspective, the ten teams would each be permitted to practice one evening a week using one of the two practice fields, and could also schedule a two hour block of time during the weekend. The main stadium would remain available for pickup games during the week and on Sundays.

-----

For Harry, the issue of the Halloween dance was not so easily resolved. McGonagall had thrown him a curve when she announced that they should attend with a partner from another house. He had expected that Hermione would be his date for any dance this year. After discussing it with her, they decided that as Head Students they should set an example and follow the headmistress's suggestion. Unfortunately for Harry, that meant it was open season on the 'even more fanciable than ever' Chosen One.

His initial thought had been to ask Luna to be his partner, as he had done for Slughorn's party last December. That plan was derailed when he learned that Ron, acting with uncharacteristic decisiveness where the opposite sex was concerned, had already asked her to go with him. (Just as friends, he quickly pointed out to everyone.) Soon it seemed that every fifth, sixth, and seventh year non-Gryffindor girl he knew, and quite a few he didn't, had made subtle and not so subtle inquiries into Harry's plans for the dance.

At first Harry thought he might go with one of the DA members, Padma, Hannah, or Susan, but he didn't want to pick one at the expense of the others. And whomever he picked would immediately be the subject of gossip from the rest of the school. But the main problem, which he didn't reveal to Hermione, was that he was concerned about her. To his surprise, she hadn't received a single offer from any of the guys to be their date. And he didn't want to have a date if she didn't. So eventually he suggested and she agreed that they would both announce that they would go as singles to the dance as the best solution to his dilemma. What Harry hadn't realized was that there were several guys who had in fact noticed Hermione, and were considering asking her, but were waiting to make sure that she wasn't going to go with him.

Ginny had much the same problem as Harry had. As soon as they found out that she was going to follow Harry and Hermione's example and not attend the dance as Neville's date, guys were all over her. Harry had to just grit his teeth and keep quiet, but she managed to fend them off without assistance. He was amused to hear her grumble one day that 'that git Michael Corner had even asked her'. Eventually she decided to spurn them all and attend with one of their new quidditch teammates, Reggie Mitchell. (Following Ron's example, just as friends.)

The other challenge for the dance was finding suitable clothing, particularly for the girls. Hermione had anticipated this problem, and had asked Mrs. Creevey to send her some mail order catalogs for women's fashions. She distributed several catalogs to each house common room and soon girls all over Hogwarts were turning the pages and oohing and aahing over the fancy muggle dresses. As the only muggleborn girl in the elite DA, Hermione found herself consulting with quite a few of them about their outfits. Between Justin Finch-Fletchly, Dean Thomas, and Colin and Dennis Creevey there were plenty of muggleborn guys to offer advice. And Dean, Colin, and Dennis were more than capable of advising the boys in Gryffindor tower, which greatly relieved Harry since he considered his own fashion sense to be nearly non-existent.

Ted and Andromeda Tonks took advantage of this dance in their Muggle Studies classes. During the month before the dance they discussed muggle fashion, and soon all of the first, fourth, and seventh year students at least had some idea of what they were expected to wear, and were able to clue in their housemates in the other years. They also arranged for a booth from a muggle resale shop that specialized in dressy clothing, to be available at the first Hogwarts merchant festival for anyone who didn't want to spend money on a brand new outfit that they might never wear again.

In lieu of the Hogsmeade weekend that would have normally been scheduled for October 26, McGonagall had arranged for several merchants to set up temporary booths in the courtyard that day. There would be representatives from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes (operating out of the former Zonko's premises), Honeydukes, Dervish & Banges, and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, in addition to outdoor dining with food and beverages provided by Madame Rosmerta and The Three Broomsticks.

Just when he thought he had everything covered for the dance (he was going to let Hermione pick out clothing for him to wear) Harry returned to the Heads suite one Friday night with Ginny to find Hermione and Neville dancing across the common room. The still somewhat awkward Gryffindor had been nervous about his dancing ability and Hermione had offered to teach him. Realizing that it was an opportunity to brush up on their own skills, Harry and Ginny joined them. After a while they switched partners and by the end of the evening everyone was comfortable with the dance steps Hermione taught them. And Harry once more realized what he had discovered in July, how much he enjoyed dancing with both Ginny and Hermione. While he knew that he would be expected to dance with girls from other houses at the Halloween dance, he hoped that there would some opportunity to dance with them as well.

-----

During the second week of October, Harry received more news from Viktor. His computer people had been plotting the locations of all the vampire attacks, and the police inspector working with them had deduced a pattern to the assaults. Armed with the crossbows Fred and George had designed, his strike team had apparated into the middle of one of the attacks. In the bloody battle that followed, several of the vampires had been killed and many more injured and captured. The rest of them quickly lost interest in fighting for a dark lord whose followers kept getting killed, and the attacks subsided.

Unfortunately, several of Viktor's fighters had been seriously injured and would be out of action for a while. That left his force even more depleted than it had been, and the giant attacks were expected any time. On the plus side, Major Thompson had obtained three of the MILAN antitank launchers along with plenty of missiles. He had trained six of Viktor's men in their operation, so they were as ready for the giants as they could be.

As a result of this development, Harry focussed the DA's training on battling giants. With Hagrid's assistance Hermione had managed to explain to Grawp how he could help them and the giant was willing to do anything for his friend Hermy. Their idea was to transfigure marbles into bowling ball-sized projectiles, and banish them at the giants like cannon balls. For their practice, they used marshmallows that were transfigured up to pillow size and hurled them at Grawp. (Harry smiled as he recalled the expression of disbelief on Viktor's face when Hermione had asked him to have Mrs. Creevey get them a case of marshmallows and send it by owl.) Grawp was delighted when he discovered he could catch and eat the attacking objects. Several times Hermione had to stop Ron from following his example and eating the ammunition.

When Rita Skeeter's article came out they were delighted. It focused on Viktor with only minor mention of his friendship with Harry. It portrayed him as an idealistic young man who, in a chance meeting at his friend's wedding that had renewed his friendship with his fellow Tri Wizard contestant, and hearing from him about what had been happening in Britain, had been inspired to volunteer his services to the Ministry, and to recruit many of his friends from all over Europe to join in the fight against You Know Who.

-----

Saturday, October 18

Harry still didn't understand what was going on with Ron. His best mate didn't appear to be mad at him and was friendly enough during training and quidditch practice. He just didn't seem to want to spend time with Harry with just the two of them.

Their team had their first quidditch match that day and it was a smashing success. Ginny and Ron had both been brilliant, with Ginny scoring more goals herself than Ron allowed for the entire opposing team. The opposing seeker was playing in her first match, and was clearly intimidated by going up against the great Harry Potter. She spent the whole match following Harry around timidly, and Harry knew that there was no way she was going to even spot the snitch, let alone catch it. When the score reached 250 to 80 Ron put in a reserve chaser and a reserve beater, to allow them some playing time. Finally, after the match had gone on for more than an hour and his teammates were satisfied with their play, Harry zoomed off behind the opposing goal and grabbed the snitch, which he had been tracking for some time.

At the postgame celebration Harry had asked Ron if he wanted to study together, but Ron had pointed out that they only had two classes together, and he was caught up in both of them. Harry then offered to help him with his Muggle Studies but Ron declined that also.

Harry had even asked Hermione if she knew any reason why Ron seemed so distant this year, but she was as mystified as he was. He tried to remember an argument they had had but couldn't come up with anything. They hadn't really spent enough time together to even have an argument. Ron had assured him that he was OK with Harry not coming out to play quidditch very often. And he hadn't missed any official practices.

Then it hit him. Trying to remember the last time they had talked one on one Harry realized it had been back during the summer. On Ginny's birthday. When he had told Ron he was going to pretend to date Hermione. And Ron had flipped out.

Harry's stomach churned. _Despite what he had claimed, Ron must have been interested in Hermione all along. And Harry had taken her away from him. It was so obvious he didn't know why he hadn't realized it before. So what was he going to do about it?_

He and Ron had sword training on Wednesday night. He would make Ron stay afterward and talk about it then.

-----

By Wednesday evening Harry's nerves were starting to get to him. Hermione had picked up on it and asked him what was wrong, but he insisted everything was fine. The look she gave him made it clear she wasn't buying it, but she let it go.

The rigors of sword practice temporarily demanded his full concentration, but as soon as it was over his nervousness returned. After their instructor complimented the pair on how well they were doing and had left the third floor training room, Harry told Ron he wanted to stay and talk. In his anxiety he didn't notice that Ron was even more nervous than he was.

"Ron, I figured out what's been going on." Harry paused and took a breath, and missed the panicked look that took over Ron's face. "It's about Hermione, isn't it? You fancy her don't you?"

"Harry, I … you … I what?" Ron had started answering before Harry had finished, and it took a second for him to process what Harry had said.

"You've been avoiding me ever since Ginny's birthday, when I told you I was going to pretend to date Hermione. That's what the problem is, right? You're mad at me because I stole Hermione from you."

Ron just stared at Harry, unable to say anything. Slowly his face turned red, then white. Finally Harry could see him visibly pull himself together as he appeared to make a decision.

"Harry look. You're right that I was shaken up that day, and I've kinda been avoiding you, but you've got it all wrong." Harry waited, unconvinced, while Ron paused, seemingly terrified about what he was going to say next. "Harry, promise me you won't kill me after what I'm going to tell you."

Harry nodded dumbly. This was not the way he had expected this conversation to go.

"Lastyearigaveyoualovepotion."

"What!" Harry thought he heard what his best friend had just told him but knew he must have misunderstood.

Since Harry hadn't exploded yet, Ron gave it another go. "Last year, I gave you a love potion to get you to fall in love with Ginny." Harry just stared at Ron, totally dumbstruck while his brain attempted to come to grips with what he had just heard. Without realizing it, he slowly backed away from Ron until he hit the wall of the training room, then slid to the floor.

Ron finally broke the silence. "The way I reacted when you told me what you were planning wasn't about Hermione, it was because I was so desperate for you to be with Ginny and I went spare when I thought you weren't going to be with her anymore."

Harry turned to face his friend, who had joined him on the floor, with a blank expression. "Why?"

Ron shrugged. He wasn't sure if he was ready to admit that he had been so insecure about his friendship with Harry that he thought he might lose him. Fortunately for him, Harry didn't pursue the question because his mind suddenly went in another direction.

"Wait, that's impossible. When you accidentally ate those chocolates from Romilda Vane you got all crazy, yelling that you loved her and wanted her and everything. I never did that with Ginny."

Ron snorted. "That love potion was a prank that Fred and George sell. That would have got her a quick snog and then after it wore off you would have known exactly what happened. No girl who really wants a guy to fall for them would use something as blatant as that."

"So, what did you do?" asked Harry, still in a daze.

"I used a real love potion. If you do it right it makes someone decide they want the other person without realizing what's happening. You use it in small amounts over time instead of a big dose all at once."

"How do you know so much about love potions?" This seemed so out of character for Ron.

"Oh. My mum talks about them once in a while. I overheard her telling Ginny about them a few times. I think she used one on my dad," Ron explained. "Oh, and before you ask, please believe me that Ginny had no idea what I was doing. She was still going with Dean when I started using it on you." It finally hit Harry then. Ron was talking about this so matter-of-factly. This was not a joke. His feelings for Ginny hadn't been real!

"So, everything I feel for Ginny is all fake?" said Harry in anguish, feeling like his whole world was being turned upside down.

"No! That's not it at all. Love potions don't create real love, they cause you to be obsessed with the girl. Once they wear off if there isn't real feeling there it doesn't go anywhere. What you're feeling for her now is real." Before Harry could ask, Ron answered his next question. "I stopped giving it to you the day you kissed her after the last quidditch match last year. See, it was just to get you to notice her. Once that happened, everything was fine. I knew you two would be perfect together, you just needed a little push."

Harry thought he should be angry and yell at Ron for meddling in his life. But he just felt numb. He tried to recall when he had first noticed having feelings for Ginny. He had pretty much ignored her during the summer when he was with her every day for more than a month at the Burrow. It wasn't until that time he had caught her and Dean snogging in the corridor that the monster within him had erupted. Ron was right; that had been more of an obsession than anything else. But once he had kissed Ginny and then started spending time with her as his girlfriend, his feelings for her had really developed.

Then he thought about the Amortentia that Slughorn had showed them in Potions class. He had smelled a fragrance there that he later associated with Ginny. That must have been due to the love potion. But how?

"So the love potion must have been keyed to Ginny. How did you manage that?"

Ron looked surprised. "Mate, you've never lived with a girl with long hair."

"Actually, yes I have," Harry reminded him.

"Right, then you know you can find one of their hairs on the furniture pretty much any time you like. All I had to do was add it to the potion."

Harry was silent once more. Now that he thought about it, the way he had all of a sudden flipped out over Ginny was pretty unrealistic. But what he was feeling for her now was more natural, right? But – how could he ever be sure it would have happened without the potion?

The questions and doubt continued their assault on his mind. The whole thing just seemed wrong. That wasn't supposed to be how it worked. You were supposed to gradually become closer to the other person, and slowly fall in love as you got to know them better. And that was what he was doing with Ginny now. Wasn't it?

"Harry?" Ron said hesitantly. "Look mate, I'm really sorry about all of this. Are … are we going to be OK?"

Harry finally looked directly at Ron. His best friend was in agony right now, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell him that everything was going to be all right. "I … I'm going to have to think about all of this for a while."

Ron thought for a bit. "Harry, please don't tell anyone else about this." He paused. "Especially Ginny … or Hermione."

Harry finally snapped. "Ron, how can you ask that! Don't you think Ginny deserves to know how you messed with her life? And how am I supposed to keep something like this from Hermione? You know how well she can read me. She'll know something's wrong the minute she looks at me."

Ron was a total mess. "I know, I know. It's just … just give me some time, OK?"

Harry wanted to ease his friend's mind, but didn't know how he could. "Look," he finally replied, "it's going to take me a while to figure this out. I won't say anything to anyone for now."

Ron reached over cautiously and clapped Harry on the shoulder, then stood up. "I understand. Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." He turned and left the training room.

Harry sat for a while longer, then got up and wandered through the halls of Hogwarts, lost in thought. Without realizing it he ended up out on the Astronomy tower. As he looked up at the stars, he thought about Firenze and the way the centaurs studied the celestial bodies for clues to their fate. Was falling in love with Ginny something he was fated to do? Would it have been different if Ron had not interfered? Would he have fallen for someone else? Would he even now be wondering about being in love with some other girl? How would the rest of his life be different now had this not happened?

As he pondered this last question, he realized that his relationship with Ginny had really had no effect on anything else that had happened recently. It had had no bearing on Snape's betrayal or Dumbledore's death, no effect on any of the things he had done this summer. Nothing to do with the search for the horcruxes or any of the attacks. Nothing to do with his decision to return to Hogwarts or the preparations they were making for the final encounter with Voldemort. None at all.

By contrast, the same certainly could not be said of his relationship with Hermione or Ron. Those relationships had affected just about everything he had done for years. In the primary drama that dominated his life this year, whether he was with Ginny or not really made no difference. He wasn't sure if he liked that thought or not.

-----

He sensed her approach even before she appeared before him. He could feel her concern for him as she stood there, holding the Marauder's Map. He looked up into her brown eyes from where he sat as she knelt in front of him and saw the worry slowly fade to relief.

As she gazed into his eyes, a look of intense concentration appeared on her face. A second later Hermione's voice sounded in his head. _"You OK?"_

She had done it! The brooding temporarily swept from his mind, Harry closed his eyes and thought back_. "I'm fine."_

The remainder of the conversation required no skill in telepathy whatsoever, as their body language conveyed everything that needed to be said. Hermione folded her arms across her chest, lowered her head slightly, and glared at him from beneath her eyebrows. _"You can't possibly expect me to fall for that one, Potter."_

Harry tilted his head to the side a bit and shrugged. _"It was worth a try."_

Hermione added a smirk to her expression. _"Not a chance."_

A grin crept onto Harry's face. _"I surrender."_

Hermione returned the grin and got to her feet, holding out a hand to help him up. _"Come on, it's late, let's get back to the room."_

As they left the Astronomy tower and walked the corridors back to the Head suite, Hermione put her arm around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. _"You know I'm here for you, right?"_

Harry put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. _"I know, and I appreciate it."_

And so the pair returned to their rooms, two best friends who didn't need words to communicate.

Just before they went through their respective doors, Hermione finally spoke. "You remember our deal, right?"

Harry nodded. At the beginning of the summer he had agreed not to keep things from her unnecessarily and to be more open with her and she had agreed not to nag him to tell her things. "I just need to sort some things out. It may take me a while, though." Hermione nodded back, satisfied, and they went to bed.

-----

Harry was very quiet the next morning during their running and at breakfast, seemingly lost in thought. After several attempts at conversation with him, Hermione and Ginny gave up, with Ginny raising a questioning eyebrow in Hermione's direction. Hermione said nothing, willing to let him take his time with whatever was bothering him.

It was the same again at lunch. Harry had returned from Defense with some of the first years, and despite their best efforts he was not responding to anything they said. Hermione could see the disappointment on their faces as he ignored them.

"Harry," she prompted. "Kristin was asking about this weekend." Harry looked up at her startled, then looked guiltily at Kristin.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said. I'm afraid my mind's on other things today. I'm probably not being very good company, am I?"

Hermione tried to cover for him. "We have an important training session tonight, and Harry's probably worried about it." Harry mumbled something about her being right about that and left the table. Ginny, who had just arrived to join them at the table, gave Hermione another questioning look but Hermione just shrugged.

The message Harry had for the elite DA that night was in fact grim enough that everyone who had noticed his distracted state during the day readily accepted the explanation that Hermione had offered. According to the latest intelligence he had received from Viktor, an attack on Hogsmeade by some giants was likely to take place that weekend. With so few Death Eaters left, Voldemort's own intelligence was out of date, and he expected to find Hogwarts students in the village for their normally scheduled Hogsmeade visit where they would be vulnerable to attack.

"This is what we've been training for people," Harry told a now very serious group of students. "We hope that the Ministry strike team will take care of everything, but we need to be ready just in case. Make sure you have your coins on you at all times. Does everyone understand their assignments?"

They all nodded, then broke apart for one final practice. The only students who would be permitted to go to the defense of Hogsmeade were those who could apparate or who had their own broomsticks. In essence that meant seventh years plus quidditch players from lower years. Harry had repeatedly stressed in their training that the most important thing about fighting against giants was staying out of reach. Their defense force had to be mobile. Harry had organized them into attack groups, who would strike at the giants with the large cannon balls, diversion groups, who would fly around out of reach of the giants to keep them distracted, and rescue teams, who would apparate to anyone who was injured and activate a portkey to take them to the Hogwarts infirmary. When he was satisfied that everyone had their assignments down pat, Harry gave them a pep talk and dismissed them.

-----

Harry's mood was no better on Friday than it had been on Thursday. This time Hermione noticed that Ron looked to be in as bad of shape as Harry was. Her eyes narrowed as she recalled that the last thing that Harry had scheduled before she found him on the Astronomy tower Wednesday night was sword practice with Ron.

"Ron," Hermione asked after Harry had left the table at breakfast, "do you have any idea what's been bugging Harry lately?" Ginny instantly snapped her head up when she heard this and darted her eyes toward her brother. Ron immediately went pale and muttered something about the DA, then jumped up and nearly ran out of the room. Again Ginny's eyes met with Hermione's and again Hermione shook her head. This was getting strange.

The final straw came late that afternoon. No one had seen Harry all day, but that wasn't unusual because Friday was his normal day to meet with Viktor. Hermione was studying in the Gryffindor common room when Neville came hurrying down the stairs with a note in his hand and rushed over to Ginny.

Hermione grabbed her books and got over to them as quickly as she could, arriving just as Ginny had finished the note.

"What's going on here?" the younger girl cried, flinging down the note in frustration. "He's …" she caught herself just in time, noticing the curious looks she was getting from the others in the room. She grabbed Hermione and Neville and pulled them over to a more private part of the room. "He's called off our date for tonight," she whispered agitatedly. "What on earth is bothering him?"

Just then her eyes focused on another part of the room and narrowed menacingly. Ron had just climbed through the portrait hole, and was looking wretched. In a flash Ginny was racing across the common room towards him, determined to find out what he knew. Ron however evaded her by dashing up the stairs to the boys' dormitory and the irritated witch groaned in frustration. Neville hurried up to talk to him, but returned a few minutes later saying Ron didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

Dinner was a tense affair at the Gryffindor table. Ginny was glaring daggers at Ron, who sat hunched over between Dean and Seamus, not talking to anyone. Hermione sat across from Ron biting her lip trying to keep from interrogating him. She was sure something had happened between her two best friends and she was desperate to try to fix it. To make matters worse, Harry had not returned for dinner, the first time that had happened all term.

After dinner Ginny exploded. Just as Ron was once more hurrying up to the boys' dorm, a Petrificus Totalus rang out. Before anyone knew what was happening, Ron's rigid form was being levitated out of the portrait hole and down the corridor.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" hissed Hermione, rushing to catch up.

"This git's going to tell me what he knows."

"Well then, bring him to the Heads suite before anyone sees you." When they reached the quarters of the head students, Ginny unceremoniously dumped Ron on the sofa.

"Talk."

-----

Harry was consumed with 'what if?'. Without letting anyone know he was back, he had taken his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map from his room and sought out a place to think. He eventually found himself back in the third floor training room. Figuring he might as well do something useful, he began to work with the weights while he continued his pondering.

What if? What if Ron had not given him the potion? What if he hadn't been obsessed with Ginny and hadn't kissed her? Would she have dated a different boy after Dean? And most disturbingly, what might have happened with his relationship with Hermione if he had not been falling for Ginny during the summer? He recalled as though it were yesterday their first kiss by the pool and what she had told him. How they might well have decided to date and possibly fallen in love. He hadn't really taken her seriously then, but seeing and hearing everyone's reaction to their bogus dating now had been a real eye-opener. She had specifically said, 'you already have a girlfriend'. What if he didn't?

Why not fall in love with Hermione? What else could he ask for in a life partner? It was just that they had had a platonic friendship for so long that he had trouble seeing the two of them in a passionate embrace like those he engaged in with Ginny. Even the serious kiss Hermione had given him on her birthday had been pleasant, but not mind-blowing. Did he want a relationship that was based on deep affection and trust, with someone he was comfortable with, but possibly lacked the fiery passion that caused his mind to go blank when the younger witch kissed him?

-----

"How could you do this to me?" The furious redheaded witch was ready to spit nails.

Ron blanched. He was no longer petrified, but didn't dare move. After all, she had a wand right now and he didn't. "What do you mean, do this to you? I was trying to help you out!"

"Did I ask for your help? I was doing fine without any help."

"Ginny, he hardly noticed you." Ginny's wand came up instantly and Ron knew he was seconds away from something really painful. "I mean, yeah he knew who you were and spent time with you and talked with you, but he never thought of you as a possible girlfriend."

"He would have! I had a plan. Dating Dean was going to make him realize I wasn't a little kid any more. He would notice I was grown up. And then he would think of me differently and I would be able to go after him." She had been pacing back and forth as she said this, and now she turned back to Ron. "And now he's going to hate me! He'll never look at me the same way again!"

"Ginny, he still likes you. I told him you didn't know anything about it. I haven't given him any of the potion for half a year and you've gotten much farther along with him since then, right?" Ron hated having to even think about what Harry and his sister might be getting up to by now, much less talk about it, but he knew she needed as much reassurance right now as he could give her.

"But now he'll have second thoughts. He'll wonder if it's for real. And you know how much he hates being manipulated. He's liable to dump me just as a reaction to being manipulated."

"Ginny, he wouldn't do that." Ron wasn't certain of that, however. His (hopefully still) best friend did have some strong reactions to the idea of being used as someone's pawn. "Anyway, how do you know he'd be feeling all those things?"

"Because I've been working really hard the last two months to understand him and get to know him better. He's been opening up to me about everything and we've gotten really close." Ginny was sobbing now, and had slumped to the floor. "And now it's all ruined."

Ron moved off the sofa and knelt down by his sister, gently picking her up and holding her in his lap. He hugged her and kept murmuring "Ginny, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry …"

A little while later there was a knock at the portrait hole. Neville entered and joined them on the floor, trying to help comfort the broken-hearted witch. When she had finally composed herself, the three of them made their way back to Gryffindor tower.

-----

She found him again. Just as Harry was realizing that he was totally spent physically from lifting weights for an unknown amount of time, she found him, even without the Marauder's Map.

Hermione had hurried through the corridors of Hogwarts after leaving Ron and Ginny in the Heads suite. She had checked the Room of Requirement and the Astronomy tower with no luck. She knew that when she got close she would sense his presence, and kept patiently checking possible locations until she did.

"I know," she said simply. He had dropped the weight and was lying on the floor trying to recover enough to get up. She settled to the floor next to him and reached her hand out and placed it on his chest, feeling his heart pounding and his lungs expanding and contracting as he sucked in deep breaths. Her hand calmed him and he felt the tension flow out of him. _She knew._ He hadn't figured out how he was going to tell her but he knew he had to. But now it wasn't necessary. _She knew._

"How?"

"Ginny cornered Ron. He finally broke down and admitted it. It wasn't a pretty sight."

"I suppose he now has bat bogeys all over his face?"

"No, actually. She was surprisingly restrained. I think she's somewhat in shock. Once I heard what he said I left to come and find you."

"I should go talk to her."

"No wait. First I want to make sure you're OK. Also, she needs to work things out with Ron, then she'll need some time to sort through it just like you did."

"OK."

"Want me to set up some targets so you can blast something?"

"Nah, I took it all out on the weights. I'm not even sure I can stand up right now."

"What can I do to help? Not with the standing up part but with the other part."

"How are you at setting upside-down worlds rightside up again?"

"Not much experience in that, I'm afraid. How about starting by telling me what you're feeling right now?"

"Manipulated. Confused. Uncertain. Like I no longer know what to trust any more."

"You can trust me."

"I know. I can always trust you." He reached up and covered her hand on his chest with his own.

"That's a start. What else?"

"Like I don't know what's real anymore. I can't get all of these what if's out of my head."

"You have to stop doing that. However you're feeling, you need to deal with it and move ahead. You can't worry about what might have happened in the past."

"But one of the what if's is …"

"Shhh. Let it go. You can't go back and change it. If it might have happened in the past, it might happen anyway. You just have to go forward and see. But now you can go forward with your eyes open. Ginny doesn't feel any differently than she did a week ago. You don't have to feel any differently than you did a week ago. You have to decide that for yourself. Forget what happened last year and decide what you feel now. And then talk to her."

They talked a while longer and Harry eventually began feeling less conflicted. Soon he was rested enough to get up and Hermione pulled the invisibility cloak over the two of them and helped him back to their rooms.

But Hermione lay awake that night for a long time, with tears in her eyes, thinking. _What if?_

---------------

A/N It was a difficult decision to bring the love potion plot into this story. I don't think anything irritates H/G shippers more than the suggestion that she used a love potion on Harry. Because of the direction I want this story to go, I couldn't have Ginny giving the love potion to Harry because when he found out about it their relationship would end immediately. This way there is more agonizing and uncertainty. Ginny is not a bad person in this story.

I got the idea for Ron to be the one giving Harry the love potion from a short one-shot by P K Fan – 'Forgetting Last Year'.

Regarding Ginny's 'plan'. Perhaps it was going to be something like the plan she executed so successfully at the beginning of 'This Means War' by Jeconais.


	8. Giant Attack

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 8, Giant Attack**

Saturday, October 25

Ginny waited anxiously outside the Heads suite the following morning, dressed in her exercise clothing. When the portrait hole opened and Harry and Hermione stepped out, it took all the self-control she possessed to restrain herself from leaping at him and crushing him in a hug. Instead she stood before him, hands clenched tightly in front of her.

"Harry, I …"  
"Ginny, I …"

The both stopped and stared at each other, then quickly dropped their eyes. Hermione stepped up and wrapped an arm around her younger friend, then gestured to Harry to proceed.

"Ginny, I'm sorry for the way I've been avoiding you, but I hope now maybe you can understand why. I'm not mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong. But I think we need to cool it for a while until I can sort out what I'm feeling. I don't want to say something I might regret. Is that OK?"

Ginny fought to control her emotions. _He hadn't broken up with her!_ But she needed to be able to tell him her side. She just had to hold on for a while. She finally looked up, into his anguished eyes and almost lost it again.

"I can handle that, I think," she managed at last. "I just don't want you to give up on us without giving me a chance."

He relaxed visibly. Confronting her like this had been tough for him, too. Trying to reassure her he continued. "It doesn't mean I want us to avoid each other. And I don't think we want anyone else to know." Ginny shook her head vigorously. "So I think we should try to act towards each other just like we have been for the past two months. You know, like good friends."

Ginny smiled broadly in relief. This had gone better than she had thought possible. Hermione, who had been worrying about how this confrontation between her two friends would go, also relaxed. She gave Ginny a quick grin and linked her arm with hers, then reached over and did the same with Harry.

Pulling them both down the corridor she said brightly, in an attempt to lighten the mood, "So, shall we go running now?"

-----

Despite her apparent cheerfulness, Hermione knew that the situation between Harry and Ginny was on a knife's edge. As the three of them ran along together she kept the conversation light and to a minimum. Harry had always been able to hold his feelings inside him, but she could tell that Ginny was still struggling to control herself. About halfway through the run she reached over and touched Harry casually on the shoulder and nodded to him that he should go ahead. Understanding what she was doing, he gave her a grateful smile and sped up slightly.

At this point Hermione grabbed Ginny and suggested they slow down a bit. As soon as Harry was out of sight the young witch collapsed into her arms and finally let it out. Forgetting her possible rivalry with the older girl for Harry's affections, Ginny unburdened herself to the friend who had always been there for her and the two girls shared a good cry. Although Hermione had been calm and supportive for Harry the previous night, giving him the comfort that he needed, inwardly she was shocked at Ron's actions. For now, she knew that she needed to keep her own feelings about what he had done mostly under control for Harry and Ginny's sakes, but she knew that eventually she would confront him and it would not be pleasant. However, that could wait for a later date.

-----

During their morning exercise they had been careful not to overdo it, knowing that they might be in a fight for their lives before the day was out. After they returned and had a leisurely breakfast, it was time for the merchants' bazaar in the courtyard. As they dressed, Harry and Hermione remembered to put on their dragonhide vests. Harry realized that he should have ordered some for all of those who would be fighting that day, and vowed that he would correct that as soon as possible. He hoped that no one would get killed as a result of his oversight.

The merchants' bazaar was a great success. Since it was in the castle, there was no need for an age restriction or parental consent, and every student was able to take part. Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Figg were keeping a sharp eye on the twins' booth, making sure the pranks being sold to the students weren't _too_ outrageous or dangerous. Many of the students were happy to have a chance to stock up on Honeyduke's chocolate, and Scrivenshaft's had a special on sugar quills, much to the delight of the younger students. Madame Rosmerta's tables were full all day.

Hand in hand, Harry and Hermione strolled leisurely through the crowded courtyard, enjoying the crisp autumn day. They stopped at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes and chatted a while with Angelina and Alicia who were manning the booth. Hermione winced as she noticed the table where a few love potions were displayed and discreetly guided Harry in the other direction. At Scrivenshaft's Harry bought her some of her favorite flavor sugar quills. (As the daughter of dentists, Hermione had developed a passion for the forbidden sweet treats.) She returned the favor at Honeydukes, picking out some chocolates that she knew he was particularly fond of, a luxury of the type that he had never been allowed by the Dursleys.

As they approached the booth housing the muggle resale clothing, it was clear that the party clothing was turning out to be a big hit. Ted Tonks had two friends who were muggleborn witches who were manning the booth, and he had obtained a large assortment of men's dress shirts and slacks, and women's dresses, skirts, and tops on consignment. Some of the pureblood and halfblood girls were amazed at how brief some of the clothing was, particularly the mini skirts. Lavender and Parvati nearly passed out from astonishment when Hermione casually mentioned that she owned similar clothing. With a mischievous grin at Harry that he had rarely seen from her in their six previous years at Hogwarts, but which he had gotten very used to during the summer, she waved her wand and a small cubical enclosed by curtains appeared. Looking over the clothing racks, she picked out a denim miniskirt and a white thin strapped tank top and disappeared inside.

By the time Hermione emerged from the changing room wearing the brief outfit Lavender and Parvati had been joined by several other seventh year girls, and when they saw her they were all stunned into silence. To their minds this was even more daring than her exercise clothing at the DA meeting had been. Seeing the Head Girl so attired gave the other girls the courage they needed to begin trying on similar clothing, and the older girls quickly conjured up several more of the changing rooms. They briskly shooed Harry away, instituting a 'no guys allowed' zone behind the resale booth, and he waited while Hermione changed back and joined him. The rest of the day saw most of the girls fourth year and above racing in and out of the changing rooms, gradually becoming more daring in their choices.

Next they meandered over to The Three Broomsticks dining area and ran into Ernie, Susan, and Padma. They decided to pick up some sandwiches and butterbeers, then waited while the other three did the same, and the five of them wandered out onto the grounds. Finding a sunny spot by the lake, Padma and Susan conjured picnic blankets and Hermione conjured up some comfortable lounge chairs like the ones her parents had around their swimming pool. Meanwhile Ernie and Harry unpacked the food and cast chilling spells on the butterbeers and they all settled down to enjoy a delightful lunch.

Of course it was too good to last. As Harry had expected, in the early afternoon, just when the streets of the town would be packed with students on a normal Hogsmeade weekend, he got a call from Viktor on his mirror. But it was worse than he expected. Viktor hurriedly informed him that there had been more giants than expected, and they were currently attacking in three different places. He had to split up his strike team and he would not be able to spare anyone if there was a fourth attack on Hogsmeade. Harry and the students would have to hold out as best as they could until the other attacks were controlled and Viktor was able to send help.

Harry's face was grim as he broke the connection with Viktor. He knew that the MILAN antitank missiles would eliminate the giants relatively quickly, but it would take some time to get to the attack site and set up, and they might need to wait until they could get a clear shot. And it didn't take very long for giants to do a lot of damage.

Without delay he touched his charmed Galleon to summon the Elite DA members. Meeting out of site of the castle on the furthermost practice quidditch pitch, he quickly explained the new situation to his charges. In ones and twos, they would fly off of the grounds to Hogsmeade Station, where they would form their battle groups and wait.

The first combat group would be Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville, and they would set up in the middle of the town. The second would be Justin, Ernie, Hannah, Blaise, and Tracey, who would be at the north end of the main street. The third would be Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Zacharias Smith, and Padma, who would cover the south end of the street. The diversionary flyers would be Ginny, Seamus, and Dean, with one of them assigned to each combat group. Susan and Daphne comprised one emergency evacuation team with Lavender and Parvati the other. All thoughts of chocolates, quills, and fancy dresses were gone, as were any personal conflicts. This was deadly serious.

Harry was relieved when Remus, Tonks, Charlie, and Madame Hooch showed up to accompany them. Remus and Tonks would provide ground cover to help with any Death Eaters that accompanied the giants, while Charlie and Hooch would cover them from the air. Harry and Remus took a moment to discuss their strategy. The greatest danger to the students would be the Death Eaters that might show up. The students had not had time to train for them, and their attention would be focused on the giants. Therefore, the first order of business would be to eliminate the Death Eaters.

Harry gave a ride to Tonks, while Remus rode with Hermione as the four of them were the first to fly off to Hogsmeade Station. As soon as they arrived, Harry grabbed a pair of omnioculars from his pack and joined Remus and Tonks scanning the village while Hermione shrunk their brooms. Just as she finished stowing them in the slings they had designed to fit across their backs Ginny arrived with Neville in tow. He hopped off immediately while Hermione disillusioned Ginny, who took back to the air to scout. Right behind them were Parvati and Seamus, and Lavender and Dean. Like Neville had, the girls quickly dismounted and they began making a last-minute check of their medical supplies, while Hermione repeated her disillusionment charms on the boys so that they could get back into the air.

Next the Hufflepuff contingent arrived, with Susan riding behind Ernie and Justin sharing with Hannah. They were soon followed by the larger Ravenclaw group as the DA students hurried to begin forming their combat teams. Finally Ron, Charlie, and Madame Hooch, who had stayed behind to coordinate the rides and bring up the rear, arrived with the three Slytherins.

The final group arrived at Hogsmeade none too soon. At that moment a half dozen giants flashed into view in the middle of the town. Immediately Charlie and Hooch took flight, streaking down the street over the giants. Their goal was twofold – distract the giants and flush out any Death Eaters – and it succeeded on both counts.

The six giants looked up for a moment, and a few swung large clubs at the flyers, but they were easily evaded. Seconds later three jets of green light flashed up toward them, but missed badly. That was what they had been waiting for. Spotting where the hexes had originated, Harry caught Remus's eye and raised two fingers and motioned to the right, then three fingers to the left. Remus and Tonks nodded and disapparated. Harry grabbed Ron and Hermione with an arm around each waist, shouted out "Wands out!" and did likewise.

The twin pops of Remus and Tonks to their right spun all three Death Eaters in that direction and they missed the nearly silent arrival of Harry, Ron, and Hermione on their left. Before Harry had even finished releasing his friends and drawing his own wand they were in action. Hermione conjured a slab of rock and also raised a shield, while Ron fired off an explosion hex at one of the Death Eaters. His spell just missed his target, but the man was knocked off of his feet by the blast. Harry's followup hex did not miss. Remus and Tonks were engaging the other two Death Eaters and stunned one, then Harry and Ron teamed up to blow away the other.

All of this took only a matter of seconds, but that was enough time to attract the attention of the giants. Tonks managed to grab the stunned Death Eater and disapparate away just before a giant club smashed to the ground where she was standing. Remus and the three students wisely decided to leave the bodies of the other two Death Eaters where they were and popped to safety.

By now Charlie had given the rest of the students the all clear and they apparated or flew quickly to their positions. In the meantime the giants had spread out and began to move up and down the street, turning their attention to the buildings of the village. Showing remarkable courage, a dozen Hogsmeade residents ran out into the street firing hexes. Unfortunately, their only effect was to turn the giants' attention to them, as the hexes bounced off of the large creatures without doing any damage.

Now, however, the students' plan went into effect. Ginny, Dean, and Seamus each buzzed a giant, while Hermione, Tracey, and Padma began transfiguring the marbles into bowling balls. As fast as they could, the other members of the teams banished the balls towards the giants.

For a while it was a standoff. The bowling ball sized projectiles were not large enough to knock out the giants without a perfect hit, but they got their attention. Every time a giant located one of the attacking teams and started toward it, swatting at the annoying flyers all the while, the team leader ordered a short distance apparation and they all popped out of harm's way. To some extent, the DA's plan was working. They were keeping the giants' attention and preventing them from doing too much damage to the village. But eventually the giants would become frustrated with this game and turn their destructive efforts to more stationary targets.

Two things happened to change the situation.

"Hermione, can you make them bigger?" Harry shouted. Hermione nodded and the next marble turned into three foot sphere as she staggered back from the strain. Harry motioned to Ron and Neville and the three of them levitated the large ball, then together they all banished it toward the nearest giant. This giant was turned away from them trying to get a swing at Ginny, and the ball, propelled by the strength of three banishment charms, smashed into the back of his head. The giant staggered once, then crashed to the ground.

Still flying overhead, Charlie and Hooch saw the revised strategy and zoomed off to pass the information to the other two combat groups. Just as they were attempting to follow the lead of the center group, a roar sounded from near the Hogwarts gates. Hagrid and Grawp were charging into battle.

At first Harry mentally welcomed their help, but almost instantly regretted it. Hagrid was nowhere near a match for a giant, and even Grawp was considered a runt by giant standards. Two of the giants attacking the village broke off and charged off toward the newcomers, even as another one fell to a larger ball launched from Tracey's group.

Harry thought frantically about how to aid Grawp and Hagrid. They were too far out of range of any of the combat groups, so they would have to leave their position guarding the village and apparate closer to the edge of town. Then another idea came to him, from a movie he and Hermione had watched that summer.

"Hermione, make me a hundred foot length of rope!" Without questioning him, Hermione flicked her wand and the rope appeared, while Harry unslung his broom from his shoulder and expanded it.

"Ron, grab the other end and keep it tight!" Harry took one end of the rope and jumped on his Firebolt, hurtling towards the two giants who were now approaching Hagrid and Grawp. Ron obeyed instantly, expanding and mounting his own Firebolt and following a hundred feet after Harry. Hermione, suddenly catching on to what Harry was doing, quickly transfigured the rope into a steel cable, then immediately cast a lightening charm on it before the boys could drop it.

Approaching the first giant, Harry swung wide, then began to curve around him in a high speed turn, while waving at Ron to go in the other direction. A few seconds later they met and passed each other on the other side of the giant, then met again and again as their cable began to ensnare the puzzled creature. Futilely, the giant swung at them, but years of dodging bludgers enabled Harry and Ron to easily evade his club. One final swing put the giant off balance and he stepped back, only to loose his footing as the cable pinned his legs. He fell to the ground with a mighty crash. Grawp rushed forward and with one powerful blow from his club crushed the head of the fallen giant.

Meanwhile Ginny, seeing what Harry and Ron were doing, had raced down to Hermione and demanded another coil of rope. As soon as the older witch had conjured a second one, she grabbed one end and took off after the two boys.

"Dean! Seamus!" she called out, hoping one of the other flyers would join her. The pair of Gryffindors, however, were engaged with the remaining two giants and didn't hear her.

"Hermione, give me your broom!" shouted Neville. Now he too had realized what Harry and Ron were up to, and knew that Ginny needed a partner.

"Neville, are you sure?" Hermione hesitated, but seeing the desperate look in his eye whipped out her broom and unshrunk it. Without another word Neville grabbed Hermione's broom and leapt into the air after Ginny.

But Neville's quick thinking and courage unfortunately outstripped his ability. Whereas Harry, Ron, and Ginny had played quidditch for years and were completely at home in the air, Neville was not. To make matters worse he was flying an unfamiliar broom, one that was designed for speed and not maneuverability. He managed to catch up to the end of the now-transfigured cable and grab it, and started around the opposite side of the giant that Ginny had taken. When he reached the front of the giant it was all he could do to force his broom into a turn, and he never saw the blow the giant aimed at him.

His shoulder and right side crushed, Neville sailed through the air in a high arc. Hermione, watching in mounting horror, screamed.

"Neville! Arresto Momentum! Arresto Momentum!" But he was hundreds of feet away from her and her spell had little effect.

Harry had just released the cable on his own giant when he heard Hermione's scream. Wheeling around, his practiced seeker's eye, which could spot a golden snitch from a thousand feet away, locked on the body of his friend as it reached the top of its arc. Urging his Firebolt to its maximum speed, he rocketed toward Neville, his voice joining Hermione's. "Arresto Momentum! Arresto Momentum!"

Ginny knew her friend was in trouble, but also knew she had to keep to her task. With the singleminded focus honed from her time spent as a chaser, she blocked out his fate just as she would a teammate who had just fallen to a bludger and pressed on. She had managed to cross with Neville once before he had been knocked from his broom, so she continued on with her end, pushing her Firebolt to its absolute limit. At nearly top speed, she pulled into the tightest turn possible, ignoring g forces that would black out an experienced fighter pilot. Five turns, ten, fifteen, twenty. Finally her giant, already dizzy from trying to follow her, took one step too many. The ground shuddered as he joined his companion, and Grawp's club sealed his fate.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Hooch, circling high above, spotted Neville's falling form. With their slowing charms added to Harry and Hermione's, Neville's descent moderated. Even so, he hit the ground with a sickening thud, already unconscious. In an instant Susan and Daphne apparated to his side. With a quick Petrificus Totalus so that he could be safely moved, they activated their portkey and flashed him to the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey.

By this time Padma's group had finally knocked out the giant who was at the southernmost end of the village. Only one remained. This was the Gurg, the leader of this clan. Seeing his comrades fall, he went into a rage, intent on dishing out as much destruction as possible. Ignoring all of the students, he turned to the nearest building and brought down his club in a massive blow, destroying half of the structure.

Harry and Ron were returning to where Hermione was stationed to resume their attack and the same thought flashed through all three of their minds. _'Merlin, I hope no one was in that building!' _A split second later those hopes were dashed, as two screams pierced the air. Before any of them had time to react, two female figures appeared outside the building as Lavender and Parvati apparated in. Without a second thought the two Gryffindors raced into the building in a desperate rescue attempt.

Unfortunately this caught the giant's attention and only enraged him further. He raised his club for a second blow, intent on destroying the remainder of the building. Harry, who had just reached Hermione, looked around desperately and spotted two bowling ball sized projectiles still remaining. Without stopping he reached down and grabbed one and took off after the giant. Ron, following right behind, grabbed the other and Ginny, just beginning to return from her own victory, wheeled and streaked after him. But it was clearly apparent that they would not be in time.

But not so for Dean and Seamus. The other two flyers had come back from where the last giant had fallen and now darted to the aid of their female housemates. Just as the giant was about to bring down his club for the killing blow, the pair buzzed right past his head, halting him in mid swing. With a roar he swung his club at one and his hand at the other, but they were already out of range. This few seconds of distraction was all that Harry needed.

While the giant was still looking towards his former dormmates, Harry came up behind it and hurled the transfigured bowling ball with all his might, hitting the giant right in the side of the head. Temporarily dazed, the giant turned right into the onrushing Ron and Ginny. Acting purely on instinct, Ron pushed his Firebolt into a vertical climb and shot directly up in front of the face of the startled behemoth, releasing his ball as he did. Right behind him, Ginny cleanly caught it and bore in on her target. It had been a perfect drop pass.

In hours and hours of flying in their backyard, the brother and sister had practiced this most basic of quidditch maneuvers. Never in their wildest dreams had they considered that they would use it in such a situation. Accelerating to top speed, Ginny closed to point blank range and let fly. The giant, still watching Ron, never saw her. Center hoop. No keeper. Goal!

With the momentum of her flight added to the ball hurled with every ounce of strength she possessed, the ten pound mass hit the giant at nearly two hundred miles per hour. Right between the eyes.

The impact of the final giant hitting the ground raised dust two blocks away.

An eerie quiet settled on the village, a stark contrast to the screaming and roaring of the battle. The students on brooms slowly spiraled to a landing and cautiously approached the bodies of the enormous creatures, not daring to believe that they had succeeded. Soon the rest of the fighters had joined them, and they embraced each other, while looking around at the destruction. Several shops and houses had been damaged, and Lavender and Parvati had not yet emerged from the smashed building into which they had disappeared. And Neville was gone.

The giant attack had been thwarted. But at what cost?

---------------

Author's Interruption – Orginally I had planned to end the chapter here, with something of a cliffhanger. But I didn't want you to worry for a week about Neville. So here's a bit more.

---------------

The followup to the battle took longer than the actual fight had lasted. There was a moment of panic when Lavender and Parvati never surfaced from the wrecked house, but it turned out that they had found an injured couple and had portkeyed them to the Hogwarts hospital wing. Eventually Tonks returned with some Aurors and they took charge of the fallen giants, putting some kind of massive restraining device on those who were merely stunned, and portkeying away the dead ones.

While this was happening Viktor arrived with a team of four men and an odd looking tube shaped device. Harry assumed that this must be the MILAN antitank weapon and Viktor confirmed it. Seeing that this battle was over, he sent the others away quickly, not wanting too many spectators to get a glimpse of the muggle weapon.

As they shared stories, Harry learned that the antitank weapon had been brutally effective in the other attacks, blowing the giants to bits. Everything had happened so quickly that few people had actually seen the rockets, most bystanders being more concerned with fleeing in terror. Harry agreed with Viktor about the need to keep the use of muggle weapons as much of a secret as possible, and the Aurors were glad to go along with them. They had no desire to face giants themselves, so they had no problem cooperating with those who did.

The full story of the attacks revealed that there were initially three strikes with four giants each at widely spaced targets, followed by the main assault on Hogsmeade fifteen minutes later. The plan had apparently been to occupy all of the Ministry forces with the first wave, then wipe out the town of Hogsmeade and as many Hogwarts students as possible when no help would be available. Without the advance warning and the DA's special training the second part, at least, would have been a horrible success. Viktor also told him that four more of Voldemort's inner circle of Death Eaters had been killed or captured, one at each attack site. Jugson, Mulciber, Nott, and Rookwood were now eliminated from his ranks. Since the elder Crabbe and Goyle had previously been killed in earlier Death Eater raids, this meant only Avery, Dolohov, MacNair, and Malfoy were still at large from the group that they had faced at the Department of Mysteries.

Viktor and Harry also agreed to keep the details of the students' role in the Hogsmeade attack under wraps, so Harry moved quickly to get everyone back to Hogwarts before any reporters showed up. Viktor remained behind to deal with the press, and as promised, Rita Skeeter later was given a private interview.

As soon as he got back to the castle, Harry rushed to the hospital wing where Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were already waiting to see how Neville was. The immediate news was not good. Neville had been barely alive when Daphne and Susan brought him in. His right shoulder was completely destroyed, and Madame Pomfrey had removed the mangled bone tissue. He would eventually need to take skelegro potion to regrow it. Every rib on that side had been shattered, and there was severe damage to his right lung and kidney. Those injuries were the main danger now. If she could get them functioning again she could repair the bones later. He was currently in a coma with no sign of when he would emerge from it.

Professor Longbottom was sitting by his bedside when the four friends were let in to see him. Before he could even start it, she halted Harry's apology, telling him that she and Neville both considered it an honor that he allowed Neville to fight alongside him. Harry responded that the honor was all his, and that he couldn't ask for a more loyal friend than Neville.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were ready to leave Ginny decided to stay in the hospital wing with Neville and his gran a bit longer. This gave her a chance to get to know the elderly witch a little better as they kept a vigil by his bedside. As the trio walked the corridor back to Gryffindor tower an uneasy silence settled over them. Hermione and Ron had not yet talked about the love potion, and Harry assumed correctly that Hermione was furious with their other friend. At his suggestion they agreed to have it out in the Heads suite common room. He left the two of them there and went out for a fly to have some time alone to sort out his own feelings. He never asked them what they talked about that afternoon, and neither of them ever volunteered anything about it. But it would be quite some time before their friendship recovered to what it had been.

On a happier note, when Lavender and Parvati found out how Dean and Seamus had flown right at the giant's head to save their lives, they were unrestrained in expressing their gratitude. The two boys walked around with dazed expressions and dopey grins for the whole weekend.

-----

On Monday there were two pieces of good news. Madame Pomfrey announced that Neville's condition had improved and it was now just a matter of time until he regained consciousness. And Rita Skeeter's article about the giant attacks came out.

In her article she described the other three attacks as great victories, giving all of the credit to Viktor and the Ministry's elite defense forces. She referred to a new weapon they had used against the giants, but nowhere in the article was any mention made of its muggle origins. It turned out that people weren't as fussed about the means used to defeat creatures like giants. If it had been wizards on the receiving end of a questionable weapon, it would have been a different story.

Her report on the attack on Hogsmeade was extraordinary. It started with the headline,_ 'Not All Giants Are Evil'_ and was flanked by pictures of Hagrid and Grawp. It credited the two of them with coming to the rescue of some brave students who were attempting to hold off the attacking giants until Auror help could arrive. It went on to praise Hogwarts professor Rubeus Hagrid for 'civilizing' his half brother and making him safe to be around normal people. There were even a few quotes (fabricated, of course, this _was_ Rita after all) from students in his class who had interacted with Grawp. When Harry returned the paper to Hermione, he caught her eye and they exchanged satisfied looks. They had definitely made the correct decision regarding Rita.

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A/N This was for the action lovers out there. Back to the romantic entanglements next chapter. I assume everyone figured out the movie reference regarding Harry's circling the giant. If not, give a holler and I'll clue you in.


	9. Halloween Dance

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment. The first year muggleborn students are still mine, though.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

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**Chapter 9, Halloween Dance**

October 31

By Friday, all anyone could talk about was the dance. That afternoon, Neville had finally been released from the hospital. He was still too weak to do anything other than sit and watch, but he would at least be able to attend.

Harry waited patiently for Hermione to finish getting ready. Per her instructions, he was wearing a pair of black dress trousers, and a silky green dress shirt. They had disagreed on how many buttons he would leave unbuttoned. When she had suggested bringing in Ginny to mediate, he gave in and unbuttoned the second one.

When Hermione emerged from her room Harry's knees went weak. Her dark red dress was of a stretch fabric, with a spaghetti strap top. It fit very snugly all the way down to her hips, then flared slightly to end about four inches above her knees. She was also wearing high heels, which made up about half of the height difference between them.

Unlike the tank tops which Harry had grown accustomed to seeing her wearing during the summer, this top had a V-cut neckline. The built in bra had a slight push-up character to it so that it revealed some eye-catching cleavage. Her magical necklace, usually buried beneath her robes, was now prominently on display in very attractive surroundings.

"Enjoying the view?"

Harry's head jerked up to see her smirking at him and he managed a guilty smile. "Um, would you believe I was admiring your necklace?"

Hermione laughed and Harry realized that he hadn't heard her laugh much the past week and that it was something he really enjoyed hearing. She crossed the short distance between them and pulled him into a hug. "Don't worry, Harry, if we didn't want you boys to look we wouldn't wear outfits like this. Just try not to be too obvious about it. And believe me, if some of the dresses I've seen are any indication, you are going to be in for a treat tonight." She pushed back from him and gave him a good look up and down. "Although I think quite a few girls are in for a treat as well."

Harry reddened a little. "Well, I think you look fantastic tonight." The corners of his mouth turned up into a grin. "And I think quite a few blokes will be noticing what an attractive necklace you're wearing." Now it was Hermione's turn to turn red, and her pulse quickened at her delight in hearing his words. She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek in gratitude.

He took her hand and led her out the portal. "But seriously, I'm amazed at how well the color of the gem in your cross matches your dress."

She stopped and cocked her head up at him. "So you really did notice the necklace?" He grinned and nodded. She smiled back at him and replied, "Magic." At his confused look she giggled and explained. "Pretty much all of the dresses in catalogues these days are either white or black. It was easy to transfigure the color to whatever we wanted."

When they arrived at the Gryffindor common room, the guys were still waiting for the girls to come down. As the first girl to arrive, Hermione was the subject of many disbelieving stares and quite a few compliments. To amuse himself, Harry tried to count the number of guys he noticed 'admiring her necklace'. He finally gave up after it happened with basically every boy fourth year and above, and not a few of the younger years.

Just then there was a commotion and they looked to the boys stairs to see Ron helping Neville walk down the stairs. Harry raced over to them and warmly greeted his loyal friend. Following a little more slowly due to her high heels, Hermione embraced Neville with a big hug, causing the shy Gryffindor to turn bright red. To top it all off, someone started clapping and immediately everyone present was applauding him for the courage he had shown in the battle. Before he could get any more embarrassed, the girls started descending from their dorms.

Hermione was right about the impact of the girls' dresses. The first one that caught Harry's eye was, of course, Ginny's. She was wearing a dress similar to Hermione's, except that the spaghetti straps from her top continued further down her back in a crisscross pattern. Also her dress was green to match her emerald pendant just as Hermione's matched her necklace. After a moment's reflection he realized that it matched his shirt as well.

Ginny had been delighted to find that the push up top of her dress gave her cleavage she had never had before, and a thrill shot through her when she noticed that it had caught Harry's attention. For his part, Harry noticed that when Ginny blushed the redness traveled a considerable distance down from her face. He complimented her on her lovely pendant with a wink, which elicited a quickly stifled laugh from Hermione. Hermione leaned over to explain the comment to the puzzled Ginny while Harry went on to greet his other female classmates.

Parvati was wearing a halter style minidress with a plunging front and a bare back, which emphasized her dark skin. Harry later discovered that Padma was wearing an identical dress, except that Parvati's was Gryffindor red while Padma's was Ravenclaw blue. The really jaw-dropping one, though, was Lavender's outfit. She was wearing a twelve inch black leather microminiskirt. Fortunately for the males' ability to stand up straight, she wore it pulled down low over her hips. This drew their attention further north, however, since she paired it with a sequined, cropped tank top, revealing at least six inches of bare midriff. To further accentuate this area, she wore a piercing in her navel. She had admired this on one of the models in a catalogue, and Hermione had informed her that Tonks had her navel pierced. So Lavender had consulted with her Transfiguration teacher and obtained one of her own.

When Harry heard this story, it struck him as yet another example of how different things were in the castle this year. Somehow he couldn't quite see his former transfiguration professor giving advice to female students on navel piercings. At this point, Hermione found him and they all headed off toward the Great Hall. With a sly grin on her face, Hermione managed to scramble his brain once more when she whispered a casual comment that if Lavender was going to wear that skirt again she would have to introduce the blonde witch to thong underwear.

Outside the Great Hall they paused while those who had dates from other houses found their partners. Since they were officially going as singles and one of the functions of the dance was to get them to mingle with other houses, Harry and Hermione had decided that it wouldn't be right for them to sit together. Hermione joined Ron and Luna while Harry sat at a table with Ginny and her date Reggie, their quidditch teammate from Ravenclaw, and the Patil twins. Harry noticed that Reggie was extremely nervous and smiled inwardly as he realized that the poor boy had probably received the big brother warning from his quidditch captain.

Parvati's date was Terry Boot from Ravenclaw while Padma was with Seamus. Seamus joked that his date was actually Parvati and that the twins had switched dresses to fool everyone. Harry joined in the laughter, but knew that the twins were as advertised, since he was able to tell them apart after only a few seconds of conversation with them. Looking around at the other tables, Harry saw that Hermione was correct about how daring many of the sixth and seventh year girls were with their dresses. Daphne Greengrass was particularly striking in a black strapless evening gown that molded tightly to her body all the way to the floor. It was cut so low at the top that he decided she must have used magic to keep it up, much as Fleur had with her wedding dress. He also wondered how she could walk in that dress, until she moved and he could see that it was slit up one side all the way to her hip. The outfit was completed with four-inch heels, which meant that the already tall Slytherin was now taller than any boy there except Ron and Dean. When he noticed that, Harry decided that it would probably be best if he did not dance with Daphne tonight, as his face would be about chest height on her.

After a delightful meal, by some prearranged signal the older female prefects rose and began to coax their dates to the dance floor to signal the start of the dancing. The first dance was reserved for the prefects, then anyone was welcome to join in. Since Harry and Hermione were attending without dates, they paired up for the initial song.

As they danced, Harry noticed the mischievous look reappear in Hermione's eyes and he knew he was in for another tease. Confirming his earlier guess, she leaned in and whispered that he'd better hope no one cast a Finite Incantatum while he was dancing with Daphne. He stuck his tongue out at her in response and informed her that he had already decided that it would be better for his health if he didn't dance with the blonde Slytherin tonight. She rewarded him with another delightful laugh.

After the first dance they changed partners, and Harry danced with Susan, Padma, and Luna in turn. The dance with Padma proved enlightening.

"You dance quite a bit better than you did at the Yule Ball in fourth year," she complimented him.

Harry switched naturally into apology mode. "Ron and I were real prats at that dance," he admitted. "We treated you and Parvati horribly. I already apologized to her a while ago, but I never apologized to you. I'm so sorry."

"Harry, that was a long time ago. You've grown up a lot in three years, and you've made it up to us countless times since. Don't give it another thought," she reassured him. "Besides, Ron is the one who should apologize to me." Harry nodded, then continued in a lighter vein.

"So, how was it that two of the prettiest girls in the school didn't have dates for that ball until the last minute?"

Padma smiled, acknowledging the compliment, and blushed a little before she answered. "Oh, that was Parvati's idea. We each had several guys ask us, but she was holding out for you. She knew you didn't have a date yet, and I knew that Cho was already going with Cedric, so she persuaded me to wait and see what would happen. I was pretty sure that either you or Ron would go with Hermione, so I didn't see the point of me waiting too, but she turned out to be right."

Harry just managed to nod, somewhat shocked. He realized now that he must have been considered a real catch, but at the time it hadn't really sunk in. He had had no idea that Parvati had been interested in him!

His dance with Luna was also interesting. The blonde Ravenclaw was wearing a dress that had a sheer layer with blue and green flowers and butterflies on it with a white satiny layer underneath. The dress had an uneven hem, with shortest part about mid-thigh and the longest part dropping to her knees. She was quite pleased when he told her that he had thought about asking her to be his date before he found out Ron had already asked her.

"So how are you and Ron getting along?"

She regarded him serenely. "Oh, we have fun together. We're just here as friends though. We make each other laugh and that's a good thing, don't you think?" Harry nodded and she continued. "I'm not really his type, though. I'm a little too 'out there' for him." Harry supposed he should agree with her. One thing about Luna, she was always direct, even if it made most people uncomfortable around her. "See who he's dancing with now?" Harry turned in the direction she was indicating and saw Ron dancing with Hannah Abbott.

Unbeknownst to Harry, Ron had come to regret his initial decision to ask Luna to the dance as friends. He hadn't realized at the time how 'fanciable' he himself had become over the summer, as his exploits with Harry became more widely known. Numerous girls had approached him in the month before the dance and he had decided he was going to make the most of it.

Hannah Abbott had once been on the chubby side, but over the summer her figure had matured into that of a full bodied woman. The dress she was wearing tonight was cleverly designed to emphasize her bust and hips, but made her waist appear more slender giving her quite an hourglass figure. The blonde Hufflepuff had caught Ron's eye as soon as he came into the Great Hall, and he had been dancing with her every dance since the first one with Luna. Harry glanced back at Luna in concern, but she seemed unaffected by it. Of course, she always seemed unaffected by just about everything.

After dancing with Luna, Harry decided to take a break and found a table with his favorite first years at it – the five muggleborns he had met at the orientation session. Carolyn had tried to play matchmaker and get Jon and Mark to take Laura and Kristin to the dance. She had explained quite logically that since she and Jon were both in Ravenclaw and she was Mark's sister that was the only way it would work out. But while Jon had considered it Mark had refused, still being in the 'girls are icky' stage. When Harry reached the table they were comparing birthdays. It turned out that Kristin's was a week before Hermione's making her the oldest one in her class. Laura's birthday was coming up in a week, while Jon's was in March and Mark and Carolyn's was at the end of May. Ironically, Carolyn, who was the tallest one in the group, was the youngest while Kristin, the oldest, was by far the shortest.

The three girls were wearing very pretty dresses in different pastel shades, what Kristin called 'dress up dresses', and Harry told them all how nice they looked. Jon and Mark were wearing dress shirts and ties, although Mark had long since lost his tie. Harry noticed that Laura and Jon were giving each other occasional shy glances, always looking away when the other one looked in their direction. Seeing that, he suggested that the six of them go out and dance. He announced that he would dance with Carolyn since she was the tallest. Mark gave him a dirty look, but there was no refusing the Head Boy. Mark was shorter than Laura so there was no way he was going to dance with her, leaving him matched up with Kristin and Laura with Jon, making Harry's matchmaking attempt a success. Harry found himself amused during his own dance with Carolyn, listening to the younger version of Hermione talk so enthusiastically about a book she was reading. He decided that if she started a sentence with 'Honestly, Harry,' he would probably lose it right there on the dance floor.

After the dance he excused himself and went back to his original table and found himself alone with Ginny.

"Hey stranger. Care to dance with a former girlfriend?"

"Well," Harry said, making a show of looking around. "I believe there is only one in attendance tonight. But to be fair, have you asked Michael or Dean yet?"

"I thought I'd go in reverse order," she responded, keeping a straight face.

He pretended to think about it, then smiled and gave in. "In that case, Miss Weasley, I'd be delighted to dance with you."

He led her to the dance floor and took her into his arms. "Has anyone told you yet this evening that you look absolutely beautiful in that dress?"

"Not the right someone."

"Well, then let me correct that glaring oversight. You are enchanting this evening."

"Thank you. You look pretty good yourself." Then Ginny turned serious. "Can we talk now?"

Harry gradually moved them away from the other dancing couples, into a mostly empty corner of the Great Hall. Just to be sure, he cast a Muffliato spell. Gathering up her courage, Ginny continued. "Harry, I'm sure you've been worrying if what we have is real, or if we'd even be together if Ron hadn't done what he did." Harry nodded in surprise. She had read his thoughts almost exactly.

"Well, I can assure you that as far as I'm concerned this is very real. And no matter what anyone else did we were going to get together. I told you before that I never really gave up on you and I meant it. I know I dated two other boys, but I always knew that they were just temporary. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the time I spent with Michael and Dean, and I don't regret dating them. In fact it was good for me that I did. I got over that starry eyed crush I had on you and learned how to talk to you and see you as a real person. But I also learned more about how to act toward boys. I learned what it meant to be a girlfriend. I learned the kinds of things boys like about girls, things I'd never learn from my brothers. For example, don't you think I learned how to kiss pretty well?" She pressed her body into him and looked into his eyes.

"That time I accidentally ran into you kissing Dean in the hall was the time the love potion really kicked in," Harry remembered aloud. "It was a real struggle to keep myself from hexing him and start kissing you myself."

Ginny frowned inwardly, not wanting him to be thinking in that direction. "In any case," she resumed, "when that relationship ran its course, I knew I was ready for you, and I was pretty sure you were ready for me. After all, you were over Cho by then and I knew you weren't thinking about anyone else. So I decided to make my move. That's what I was doing after that last quidditch match when I ran into your arms. I was about to kiss you when you kissed me first." She lowered her voice suggestively. "So what do you think about that, Mr. Potter? Potion or no, do you think you could have resisted me then?" She stopped their dance movements and pulled herself closer to him than ever. Her face was inches from his and he saw her moisten her lips in anticipation. She was right. He couldn't have resisted her then and he couldn't resist her now. He lowered his head to hers and claimed those lips for his own.

His mind had intended it to be a brief kiss, only for a second. Then his mind intended to stop the kiss after a few seconds. Then his mind stopped functioning.

The next thing he knew he was hearing a familiar voice. "Well, what do we have here?"

Harry and Ginny shot apart as though an electric charge had passed through them. Harry whirled to see Parvati and Padma standing there staring at them. Parvati had a look on her face like Christmas had come early, but Padma's face showed a mixture of emotions – amusement, then surprise, suspicion, and lastly disappointment. Harry got the feeling that he had failed to live up to her high opinion of him. She would never have believed that he would be someone who would cheat on his girlfriend.

Harry, feeling panicked, quickly glanced around to check if anyone else had seen them, but the nearby students' attention seemed to be elsewhere. Ginny, though, just moved away a little and stood there somewhat defiantly. Returning his attention to the look he had seen on Padma's face he stammered, trying to explain, "No, this isn't what it looks like." Parvati giggled and Padma raised an eyebrow. _'Well, OK, it actually is sorta what it looks like.'_ "I mean, look, you can't tell anybody about this," he pleaded.

Parvati gave him a 'you've got to be kidding' look and Padma folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "Really," claimed Harry, desperate to make them understand, "this is a matter of life or death."

Parvati chortled, "Yeah it is, because Hermione's gonna kill you."

"No, you don't understand. Hermione knows all about us. She's fine with it."

Parvati started to say something again, but Padma stopped her. "OK, Potter, what's going on here?"

Harry looked around feverishly but still no one was paying them any mind. "We can't talk about it here. You have to believe me. But please, you have to keep this quiet."

Padma regarded him shrewdly. "When, then?" Parvati was silent, not sure what her twin was getting at.

"Come up to the Heads suite after the dance and we'll try to explain it. But until then keep it to yourselves, OK?"

"What, you mean I can't even tell Lavender?" asked Parvati in shock.

"OK, we tell nobody," Padma agreed, silencing Parvati's objection before her sister could voice it. "But this better be good." Then her voice softened and she moved closer to Harry. "I want to be able to trust you, Harry. Please don't let me down."

Harry nodded and was about to say something else, but at that moment a murmur went through the students around him. Whatever had grabbed their attention had just gotten even more interesting. Turning his head and straining to see what it was, his heart sank. It looked like something was happening on the dance floor, and he instantly recognized a certain head of bushy hair right in the middle of it. Was Hermione in trouble?

Without even thinking about it, he left the girls and began pushing through the crowd toward the other end of the hall, simultaneously reaching out with his mind feeling for Hermione's presence. What he found was a mixture of emotions. Delight, nervousness, excitement, uncertainty, but overall she didn't seem to be in danger. As he came closer, he saw that she was dancing with someone. Not sure what to do next he pushed out a mental question toward her. _"Are you OK?"_

-----

Hermione had been off balance ever since Blaise had asked her to dance. Never had she had a boy flirt with her the way he was. He had a reputation as a ladies man and it was fully deserved. And where someone like Lavender or Daphne was used to this sort of treatment, in this aspect of life Hermione was a total novice. This wasn't something you could learn about from reading books and studying. At least not the kinds of books Hermione read.

The way he talked to her, the compliments he paid her, the slight ways he touched her, all left her flustered. When he had complimented her on her necklace, like every other boy had done while they were checking out her cleavage, he had reached out and touched it to examine it. In doing so the back of his fingers had 'inadvertantly' grazed her breasts where they emerged from her low cut top, and they still tingled where he had done so. Now those same fingers, resting on her bare back in their current dance step, were doing things to her skin that were driving her to distraction. For the first time tonight, she was acutely aware that under this rather brief dress she was wearing she had practically nothing else on.

During the dance, which somehow was accompanied by the longest and most sensual song the band had played the entire evening, he seemed to end up a little closer to her after every turn, and was now pressed up against her more closely than any other dance partner had been. And to make it even worse, she felt powerless to resist as her body unconsciously responded to the signals he was sending out. She was at once thrilled and alarmed. For one of the few times in her life she was not in control of a situation. And, to her dismay, she found herself enjoying it.

She was only vaguely aware that quite a few other students had noticed what was going on between her and Blaise, and a murmur had spread across the Great Hall as more and more of them jockeyed into position to see what would happen. His most recent move had left them in a position that was now decidedly outside her comfort range. The rational side of her mind began to panic.

And then there it was. Harry's voice in her head. "_Are you OK?" _At once she relaxed a little and her body language changed. Relief flooded through her and the nervousness eased, yet leaving the exhilaration in place. In her happiness at now knowing he was there for her and she was safe she sent him a mental response. "_Great!"_

-----

Blaise Zabini couldn't believe that this was happening. Hermione Granger had never been someone who he considered worthy of his pursuit. He had noticed last month on the Hogwarts Express that she looked better than he had remembered, but at the time he had been more interested in Ginny Weasley's availability. Along with the other males in the DA, his attention had been grabbed by the outfits she and Ginny had revealed at their first training session, but when the other girls began to wear similar outfits she had once more slipped into the role of Potions partner. He had come to the dance tonight expecting to dance with the most attractive girls, and the pretty little Gryffindor redhead had been one he had his eye on. But when the prefects went up to dance he had been astounded. _If Granger looked this good, how had she managed to escape his notice for six years?_ She immediately shot to the top of his prospects list.

He had carefully bided his time while all of the Ravenclaw boys had danced with her, and planned it so that there would be a particularly appropriate song playing when he approached her. He had put all of his moves on her, and he was amazed at how she was responding. This bookworm apparently had quite an unsuspected sensual side to her. Now he was wondering just how far he could go tonight.

All at once something happened. Something in her changed and she seemed to come to her senses and backed off from him a little. Yet she didn't look distressed, but rather was as radiant as ever. At the same time he became aware of a disturbance in the crowd. A little too late he remembered that this was Harry Potter's girlfriend that he was flirting with, and that was a young man that no one at Hogwarts wanted angry with them. _Why had he thought this was a good idea?_

-----

As Harry approached the other end of the hall, he realized that it was Blaise Zabini who Hermione was dancing with, and he also noticed that she was pressed up against him rather tightly. He found that he was jealous that the handsome Slytherin was holding her much more closely than he had when he danced with her. He mentally berated himself for thinking that, since he had no right to feel that way, and in fact Ginny had been holding him just as close only a few minutes ago. Just then he noticed Hermione relax a bit and move back from Blaise, at the same time as he received her response to his mental query. _"Great!"_

Now he was in a dilemma. Quite a few students had by now noticed him bulling his way toward the dancing couple, and were expecting a confrontation between the smooth interloper and the angry boyfriend. But now he knew that Hermione wasn't in any trouble; rather she was enjoying herself, and anything he did would embarrass her. As he moved in her direction he found Ron at his side, ready to back him up like a best mate should.

Glancing around he noticed that among the bystanders watching the pair of students out on the dance floor were Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass. Making a quick decision he veered in their direction and leaned over to Ron, who was matching him stride for stride.

"You take the blonde, I'll take the brunette." Ron gave him a puzzled glance, but when he looked in the direction Harry was indicating he realized that his buddy had just changed the plan and adjusted accordingly. His eyes lit up as he got a good look at Daphne. He would have to thank Harry later!

"Would you care to dance, Miss Davis?" Startled, the Slytherin prefect accepted with only a brief hesitation. She looked at him shrewdly. Like the others, she had expected an explosion when Harry reacted to what Blaise was doing with Hermione. But not this year's version of Harry Potter. He had apparently read the situation differently than everyone else in the Great Hall, and judging from the fact that Blaise and Hermione were now dancing at a normal separation, he had read it correctly. She had been sure that things had been different just before he had walked up. Had he somehow communicated with Hermione?

"OK, Potter, what just happened here?"

He merely smiled at her slyly. "Whatever do you mean, Tracey? Don't you think it's wonderful that three Gryffindors are dancing with three Slytherins? What a great example we're setting for the rest of the school." They turned a few times so that they each had a view of the rest of the dancers. "I just noticed that Hermione was dancing with Blaise and thought I should follow her example. And I see that Ron must have had similar thoughts." They both looked over to where Ron and Daphne were dancing. Like Tracey, Daphne had been startled when Ron asked her to dance, but now she was making the best of it. Ron was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of the prominent display that her strapless gown afforded, and she didn't seem to be bothered by it. She finally broke his gaze by pulling him closer and pressing herself into his chest. Ron didn't seem to mind that either.

As the song concluded Harry noticed Hermione break away from Blaise and thank him politely for the dances, and he did the same with Tracey. Before he could get to Hermione to tell her they had a problem he found himself confronted by Parvati. "Padma told me to tell you that you owed me a dance."

"I think you're right, I probably do," Harry allowed, and he led her out onto the dance floor. Just to make conversation, he asked her about Seamus. She replied that they had been just having fun together, and weren't dating seriously. Following up on his thought, she allowed that Dean and Lavender had hooked up as a result of the events of the previous weekend, and pointed out where they were dancing. Harry noticed that Dean's hands seemed constantly being drawn to the bare skin around her waist revealed by her outfit. And that the exposed area reached dangerous proportions as she reached up to put her arms around his neck.

As they danced, he thought about the girl in his arms. He knew her better than just about any girl at Hogwarts besides Hermione and Ginny, and she was a good friend. Although they had never been especially close, she had been mostly supportive of him over the years, and she had shown her bravery during the Hogsmeade attack. And he had been comfortable enough with her in fourth year that she had been the one that he had finally attended the Yule Ball with.

Parvati interrupted his thoughts. "Quite a bit has happened in three years, hasn't it?" Harry agreed with her. It was hard to believe that life had been simpler when all he had to worry about was fighting dragons and breathing underwater. "We've all had to change, but none of us more than you, I think," she continued. She paused for a bit. "I don't think you realize, Harry, just how much all of us Gryffindors think of you. Sometimes I think we take you for granted and don't let you know how much you mean to us. So I'm telling you right now. We're behind you all the way, Harry. You can count on all of us."

Harry found himself too choked up to answer right away. It was true that he hadn't always felt appreciated by his housemates, and it meant a lot to him to hear what she was saying. He surprised her by pulling her into a hug. "Thanks Parvati. You don't know how much that means to me."

Trying to lighten up the mood a little he added, "I know I'm certainly enjoying this dance a lot more than the one three years ago. How about you?" She smiled and nodded, still in shock that she had just been hugged by Harry Potter! "You're right, though. Things really have changed. We've had to grow up a lot since then."

Parvati finally found her voice although she was pretty sure he must be able to feel her heart pounding from where she was pressed up against him. Reluctantly she pulled away when he ended the hug. "Yes we have. And we're all better people because of it. You'll get us through this, Harry. I believe in you." She decided that she had pushed this intimate moment far enough. Looking around, she spotted Hermione talking with another group of boys. "Some things haven't changed, though. It seems that once again Hermione has managed to catch the eye of every boy in the room." Harry laughed and agreed, and they went to rescue their friend as the dance ended.

-----

It was after midnight, and a small group was gathered in the Heads suite. Harry had wanted to include Neville, but he was still recovering from his injuries and had been too tired after the dance. He, Hermione, and Ginny were coming clean with Parvati and Padma.

Parvati gasped once or twice during their revelation, and had a gleam in her eye at the thought of Harry and Ginny's secret rendezvous, but Padma looked thoughtful throughout.

"So, do you see why we need to keep all of this secret?" Harry concluded.

Parvati reluctantly nodded, but Padma had other ideas. "OK, but we want in."

"What do you mean?"

"In return for our confidentiality, include us in the ruse. You want it to look like you're dating other girls, let us be part of it. Switch girls every so often and everyone will think you're playing the field, so no one will be in danger. And we get a chance to date Harry Potter."

Parvati's face lit up, and Harry recalled how Padma had revealed that she had once fancied him. He frowned and started to shake his head. He didn't want anyone else in danger because of him. But Padma wouldn't be deterred. "Look, we're all in danger here. Everyone knows we're your friends. It won't matter that much if we date you for a while." She looked around at the others in the room.

"Everyone here benefits from this idea. My sister gets a few weeks with the boy she's been mooning over for four years." Parvati turned bright red and buried her face in her hands, but didn't deny anything. "I get to find out if you're as great as she says you are." She winked at Harry and he got the feeling that she knew very well that she would enjoy dating him. "Ginny benefits because we work her into the rotation and she can date you for a while without hiding it." The look on Ginny's face confirmed that she agreed wholeheartedly with that point. Then Padma came out with the clincher. "And Hermione gets a chance to have a guy ask her out and can maybe have a real boyfriend instead of a pretend one."

This comment had a dramatic effect on each of the three Gryffindors, although not necessarily the exact reaction Padma might have expected from each one. The most predictable was Harry who immediately felt guilty about how he had unthinkingly deprived his best friend. That guilt alone was enough to make him accept her proposal.

Ginny quickly realized how that prospect would work to her advantage. If Hermione were no longer pretending to be Harry's girlfriend, and in fact found another boy to occupy her attention, Ginny's worries about whether she was in love with Harry would be alleviated. This was sounding better all the time.

Hermione, by contrast, wanted to shout out, _'No, that's not necessary at all!'_ She was perfectly happy with the way things were. She didn't need another boyfriend. She wanted to stay with Harry. But she couldn't say any of that out loud. Trying to keep the anguished look from her face, she could only manage a weak nod.

-----

As a prefect, Padma could legitimately get back to her dorm even though it was after hours, but Harry escorted Ginny and Parvati back to Gryffindor tower. As they reached the stairs to the girls' dorm, Parvati grabbed his arm and pressed up against him.

"Thanks for the dance, Harry," she purred. "I had a great time." Harry was startled for a second before he realized what was going on. He turned to Ginny for help, but she only smirked and bounded up the stairs.

"Would you like to give me a goodnight kiss?" Parvati whispered, her dark eyes capturing his in anticipation. Harry gulped and nodded. This was going to be a very interesting month.

---------------

A/N In case you're wondering about the war, Voldemort is on the ropes. Nearly all of his Death Eaters have been killed or captured. He's lost his dementor, vampire, and giant allies. Now he has to regroup and recruit more supporters, and it's going to be difficult since he has suffered so many defeats. It will be a few months before he's ready to attack again. So the next several chapters will be mostly the trials and tribulations of teenage relationships.


	10. Changing Partners

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 10, Changing Partners**

The following day was the first match for the prefect quidditch team. At first, no one noticed when Harry accompanied Parvati to the stadium and sat with her. After all, her sister and his girlfriend were playing in the match. As the match progressed, more and more of the surrounding spectators decided that there was something more interesting than a quidditch match going on in the stadium. All of a sudden there were two Gryffindors who were acting like a lot more than friends. By the end of the match, Parvati was practically sitting on his lap, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the confrontation between the jilted girlfriend and her evident replacement. But once again, they were to be frustrated. When the match ended, Harry gave Hermione a hug and congratulated her while Parvati did the same with Padma, then they switched. How on earth could they be so bloody civilized about this? Parvati and Hermione were acting like old friends, even though Parvati was hanging all over Harry, and he had his arm around her as they returned to the castle. Try as they might, the onlookers could detect no animosity from the Head Girl toward her former roommate. So it went down as just one more remarkable feature about Harry Potter, who apparently had the amazing ability to change girlfriends in a blink and still remain friends with the former one.

Dating Parvati turned out to be quite an adjustment for Harry. Knowing it was only for a short while, she wanted to get the most out of it and spend as much time with him as possible. He couldn't really blame her, but made it clear that he didn't really have a lot of extra time in his life. Her solution was to join his activities at every opportunity, in particular his workouts and training. Going running together didn't work out well at all, since she couldn't even come close to keeping up with him. He compromised on this by telling her that walking was also good exercise, so she happily joined him for a long walk every afternoon after classes.

Swimming together was an eye-opener in more ways than one. Parvati couldn't stop staring at his brief swimsuit, and her own choice of swimwear turned out to be even more distracting. She didn't have a swimsuit of her own, so she showed up the first time in a one-piece exercise outfit. Unfortunately, it was white, made of relatively thin material and turned out to be nearly transparent when wet. Harry ended up learning more about certain aspects of Parvati than he could possibly have imagined. Fortunately for his composure, she quickly decided it was more fun to watch him from outside the pool, so she climbed out and wrapped a towel around herself without really noticing how much she was revealing. From then on she just came and watched him swim without getting in the water herself.

Ginny was completely unsympathetic to Harry's plight when she learned of this experience, howling with laughter when he stammered out the story later. Hermione wasn't much better, but at least tried to cover her mirth before giving up and breaking into giggles. Ron and Neville just got glazed looks on their faces, Ron eventually being heard to mutter, "You lucky dog!" Ginny then magnanimously offered her old swimsuit (the one that 'pretty much covered up everything') for Parvati to use. Harry got her back by suggesting that Hermione had a nice string bikini that he might ask her to let Parvati wear while she was lounging at the side of the pool watching him, and she shut up rather quickly after that. Parvati's attempts at lifting weights with him went considerably better, although Harry still thought she did a lot more looking than lifting.

All in all, being with Parvati was something completely different for Harry, casual dating with a bit of hugging and snogging with no expectations and no thoughts of it becoming anything serious. Just a couple of teenagers having fun together. He wondered if that was what it was like for normal students.

The most difficult adjustment, though, was in his relationship with Hermione. He had to consciously remember _not_ to hug her whenever he felt like it, and _not_ hold her hand when they went anywhere together. And strangely enough, it seemed like Hermione had as much trouble remembering as he did. Usually she was the one who was good at remembering everything. Fortunately, Parvati was quite helpful at reminding him that he was supposed to be holding _her_ hand, and giving _her_ hugs whenever they parted.

The courtship of Hermione Granger, as Harry was later to term it, was a drama of its own. For the first week or two, the Hogwarts males held back before they could convince themselves that Harry wouldn't really have a problem with it. Also, they were all waiting to see if Ron would ask her out, but he had decided to get together with Hannah Abbott after the Halloween dance and was soon seen everywhere in the company of the blonde Hufflepuff. As a matter of fact, several new relationships sprouted up in the aftermath of the dance. Dean and Lavender were soon seen going at it hot and heavy in the Gryffindor common room and in the corridors, on occasion rivaling the show put on by Ron and Lavender the year before. Seamus was dating Padma, but like his fling with Parvati before the dance it was only a casual thing. Harry suspected that his Irish former roommate just wanted to be able to brag that he had dated twins. Of the seventh year Gryffindor boys, as it turned out, only Neville had the same girlfriend after the dance as he had the week prior.

And so it became open season on Hermione. Hufflepuff guys waited at the Great Hall offering to accompany her to her classes and carry her books. Her table at the library became standing room only for Ravenclaw males. Her presence was constantly in demand at the sixth and seventh year study rooms in the evenings. As it began to get out of hand Harry suggested, and Hermione readily agreed, that the Heads suite common room be off limits to suitors. There, thankfully, the two of them could relax together in some semblance of normalcy and spend time the way both of them most preferred, just being together and sharing things with each other. At those times just before bed, at least, they could return to the easy intimacy that had developed between them back during the summer.

At first Hermione was flattered and even overwhelmed at the attention, not really believing that it was happening to her. Unwilling to hurt anyone's feelings, she initially accepted the offers of assistance and requests for her presence with a shy smile and heartfelt thanks, which of course only encouraged the prospective beaus. Finally, after a few earnest advice sessions with Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati, she began to be more selective with her attention. Eventually the list of hopefuls was pared to Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Ernie Macmillan, and Blaise Zabini. Reasoning that there was no need for her to make a choice and have an honest to goodness actual boyfriend right away, she continued to enjoy the company of all four.

After a few weeks Parvati reluctantly gave way to Padma, and now it was Harry's turn for the notoriety of having dated twins. He really didn't understand what all the fuss was about, since as far as he was concerned they were very different people. He certainly didn't appreciate all of the innuendo and suggestive questions about how the two compared (wink, wink). However, by the end of November Harry had made some important discoveries, or possibly realizations. He found that he was much more compatible with Padma than Parvati, and truly enjoyed being with her. She had a more serious approach to life than her twin, who was just too much into socializing for Harry's taste. Parvati wasn't so bad when it was just the two of them, but when she and Lavender were together it got to be a bit too much to take. On the other hand, Padma's intelligence and wit brought home to him just what kind of woman he preferred. Where dating Parvati had been just fluff and fun, he could see that a relationship with Padma would have the potential to get serious and become something much more. At least it would if he did not already have two women in his life.

That's right, he finally admitted to himself, two women. For it had now become obvious to Harry, perhaps because he was no longer acting like she was his girlfriend and realized that he missed it, that his feelings for his oldest female friend had gone far past what any stretch of the imagination could consider the bounds of friendship. Even though he still saw her every morning and evening, and spent more time with her than anyone else, he missed her, missed the more intimate aspect of their relationship that had once made him nervous to contemplate. He had developed _those_ kinds of feelings for his best friend. And he had no idea what to do about it.

After all, he was still seeing Ginny, and most definitely had developed strong feelings for her. Loyalty to their relationship alone would keep him from pursuing anything with Hermione, but it was much more than loyalty. He was beginning to think in terms of spending the rest of his life with her, and amazingly that prospect didn't scare him the way it would most males his age. She was everything he could want in a girl, and was completely devoted to him. The problem was, he could also say the same thing about Hermione. Except for the physical part with Hermione, of which he had determinedly kept himself from even thinking about anything more than hugging and a few friendly kisses, he was just as comfortable with the idea of being with her on a long term basis. Again, he had no idea what to do about it, so he resolved to ignore it for as long as possible and hope that somehow his feelings would clarify themselves eventually.

He was pretty sure that Hermione had somewhat similar feelings for him. Looking back over the last few months, in hindsight that seemed to be pretty clear from certain looks and smiles that they had shared. The touching and hugging had gotten more intimate too. How often did your best friend sit on your lap, after all? And that kiss on her birthday should have been a real giveaway. But now that Hermione was in the process of dating other boys, there was even less likelihood of him acting on his feelings. He certainly wasn't about to mess that up for her.

-----

To make matters worse, from Harry's point of view, the outer world was about to intrude yet again into his personal life. Rita Skeeter had informed him a while ago that he and Viktor were going to be on _Witch Weekly's_ year end list of _The Wizarding World's Most Eligible Bachelors_. She had pointed out that there were going to have to be stories about him and he had reluctantly agreed to let her write one in order to get it as close to what they wanted the public to see as possible. At the end of November the day he was dreading came, as post owls swooped into the Great Hall delivering the long awaited listing to the hands of eager witches. Soon the air was full of delighted gasps, wishful sighs, and disappointed groans, and all eyes were on him as Parvati cheerfully passed him her copy, clearly pleased with its contents.

In addition to the main story, in which Viktor Krum was ranked third and Harry fifth, and which carried short sketches about each, there were companion articles with more in depth profiles. Rita had written the ones for Harry and Viktor. Viktor's article noted that the world's most famous seeker had given up the sport to join the fight against You Know Who in Britain and explained how the decision had been influenced by his friendship with Harry Potter. It described him as a private man who kept to himself, often appearing to outsiders as dark and brooding, but also powerful, idealistic, with a great deal of integrity, and very loyal. He would be quite the challenge for a witch who wanted to get close to him. Indeed, he had only been known to have one relationship, with Hogwarts student Hermione Granger three years ago when he was in Britain for the Tri Wizard Tournament. The article concluded that the witch that snagged him would have to be intelligent and willing to fight for what she wanted, but also very patient.

Of course Harry's article was the one everyone was most interested in.

_**Who Will Capture the Heart of the Boy Who Lived?**_

_by Rita Skeeter_

_New to the Ten Most Eligible Bachelors list this year, but certainly not unfamiliar to the wizarding world, is Harry Potter. That's right, the Boy Who Lived has finally come of age. Good looking, wealthy, and just an all around nice guy, we expect him to be a fixture on our list for some time to come, or until some lucky witch snaps him up. And apparently, being a year older has meant more for Mr. Potter than just receiving an inheritance. According to the witches at Hogwarts, he has developed into a real treat for the eyes._

"_He's always had those dreamy eyes, and that messy hair that makes you want to run your fingers through it, but we now he has a body to die for." "Those shoulders, mmm. And I'd love to get my hands on that chest." "I go to sleep at night dreaming about being held in those strong arms." These are just some of the comments from the lucky girls who get to see him every day at school._

_And here's what the guys have to say. "There's no way we can compete with him. He could have just about any girl in the school he wanted." "My girlfriend would dump me in a minute if he looked at her the right way. But the thing of it is, Harry's such a nice guy you can't really be mad at him about it. He's one of the most helpful Head Boys we've had around here in years."_

_However, any witch who's interested in Mr. Potter has to be aware of the downside. The same thing that makes him so famous also makes him dangerous to be around. How many of us want a boyfriend who has a dark lord trying to kill him? More than once this summer he was the subject of a Death Eater attack. That would certainly put the damper on a romantic evening! Yes, it takes a brave witch indeed to be the girlfriend of Harry Potter._

_Perhaps for that very reason, Mr. Potter has never been in a close relationship with any girl. He's dated his fair share while at Hogwarts, but none of them have endured, the longest so far lasting only two months. So ladies, he's definitely still up for grabs. Interested? Let's see what kind of witch most interests Mr. Potter. For starters, he has only dated Hogwarts students in his year or the year ahead or behind him. So if you're not at Hogwarts, perhaps you should put those love letters away. _

_His first serious relationship, first revealed by this reporter three years ago, was with Hermione Granger of Gryffindor house. That relationship ended when Miss Granger began dating Viktor Krum during the Tri Wizard Tournament (see accompanying article on Viktor Krum) but the two remained good friends. Later that year he briefly dated Parvati Patil, a fellow Gryffindor also in his year. The following year he had a relationship with Cho Chang of Ravenclaw. Coincidentally, Miss Chang had also previously dated a Tri Wizard champion, Cedric Diggory, whose tragic and untimely death has been previously related in an exclusive story by this reporter. Apparently, Tri Wizard champions seem to prefer the same sort of girl._

_Last year Mr. Potter dated two different girls, Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw and Ginevra Weasley of Gryffindor. Again, both relationships ended under friendly circumstances, and both girls are still good friends with Mr. Potter. That seems to be a recurring theme in Harry Potter's love life. Without exception, he has only dated girls who he has known for some time, and who are already friends, and he remains friends with them after they part company. This has been confirmed by every girl he has dated who is still a student at Hogwarts. That dreaded relationship-ending line, 'let's just be friends' really seems to apply in his case._

_Mr. Potter has been more active in his dating life since he attained his majority. Already this year he has been involved with three different girls, Hermione Granger (again), Parvati Patil (again), and the girl he is currently seeing, Padma Patil of Ravenclaw. That's right, Harry Potter seems to be able to break every rule of dating. He dates his friends. He remains friends after the relationship ends. He repeats relationships. He even dates sisters. And somehow it all works for him._

_The final tally? Three Gryffindors and three Ravenclaws. Apparently Mr. Potter prefers his women to be both courageous and intelligent. And according to the Hogwarts male population they have included some of the prettiest witches at the school._

_So there you have it ladies. If you're a smart Gryffindor or a brave Ravenclaw, and if you're already good friends with Mr. Potter, you may have a chance with the Boy Who Lived. Just keep your wand handy for those pesky Death Eater attacks. The rest of you, better luck with the other wizards on our Ten Most Eligible Bachelors list._

Harry was sitting at one of the tables with Padma on one side and Hermione on the other. On the far side of Hermione was Terry Boot, her current suitor. As he read through the article, he found himself sinking lower and lower in his seat in embarrassment. Perhaps the floor would open up and he could escape down into the kitchen with the house elves. Unfortunately, some of his 'friends' had other ideas.

As if on cue, every Gryffindor seventh year male stood up and saluted him, and the entire Great Hall burst into laughter and applause. Then Ginny appeared, with Colin in tow.

"We've just got to get a picture, don't you think?" she exclaimed excitedly. Ignoring Harry's desperate headshake, Parvati clapped her hands excitedly and wholeheartedly agreed. A somewhat confused Luna was dragged over from another table, and Colin soon had the five girls arranged around Harry, who was still sitting at the table wondering how this was all happening to him. Padma and Parvati flanked him, both leaning toward him with their heads resting on his shoulders at chin height. Ginny and Hermione were above them, leaning in so their heads were almost touching his and a little above him, and Luna stood directly behind him so her head was above his. A few flashes of Colin's camera later, the photo that would forever after be known as _Harry and His Honeys_ was created.

Then Parvati stood on a chair and called out to the onlookers. "Now let's fess up. Who provided all of these quotes?"

"Mine is the one that says he could have any girl he wanted," announced Justin Finch-Fletchley. "I don't think I'll get any argument there."

"I'm the one who said my girlfriend would dump me in a minute," admitted Seamus. "What?" he demanded as Harry looked at him in shock. "I dated Parvati for a week and the next thing I know she's with you. Then I tried Padma and two weeks later look who she's with." Once more laughter enveloped the Great Hall. "But really, I'm not mad about it," he laughed, joining with the rest of the merriment.

"OK, what about the girls?" Parvati queried, reclaiming control of the inquiry. "Who thinks he has dreamy eyes and wants to run their hands through his hair?"

"Me!" came shouts from several nearby tables. A short silence greeted this, then the laughter resumed. "OK," Parvati giggled, "We'll put that one down to the entire Hufflepuff house."

"Gryffindors too!" came a protest from another table. "And Ravenclaws!" a voice from yet another table chipped in.

"All right, all right, we all like his hair and eyes. But who gave the quote to Rita Skeeter? I'll admit to the one about his shoulders and chest. And it was as good as I thought it would be," she added wickedly.

"The hair and eyes one was from me," Ginny announced. To everyone's surprised looks she shrugged. "Hey, just because we're not going together any more doesn't make it any less true."

"All right now, last one, who goes to sleep dreaming about being held in his arms?" Fifty hands shot up amid whoops and whistles." Harry suddenly noticed that Hermione had gone very quiet, and very red, and had ducked her head so no one could see her face.

_Hermione?_ He sent through their mental link. There was no response. Hermione was evidently embarrassed and didn't want him to know what she was thinking. He decided she must have been remembering about how he had held her during the night sometimes when he was comforting her last summer.

Once he figured that out he grinned and surreptitiously reached his hand under the table to give hers a squeeze and leaned closer to her. "I liked it too," he whispered to her. A second later she lifted her head and smiled shyly at him before darting her eyes away once more. Smiling, he gave her hand one more squeeze before returning his attention to the chaotic merriment in the Great Hall.

-----

November wasn't all about romance. For one thing, Harry, Ron, and Ginny's quidditch team won another game. This time the opposing seeker knew what he was doing, so Harry couldn't pay as much attention to the rest of the game. When their team was ahead by 200 points, Ron started substituting again, and all three reserves got to play. Eventually, Harry ended it with a crowd pleasing low level twisting grab of the snitch, just ahead of his opponent.

For most of the school, however, November marked the month when one of Hagrid's dreams came true. He managed to bring a dragon into Care of Magical Creatures class. It wasn't a full size dragon, but it was still quite impressive. Charlie had used his contacts at the dragon preserve to arrange for them to have a juvenile Norwegian Ridgeback for two weeks.

The sixth and seventh years who had Care of Magical Creatures in the morning could talk of nothing else at lunch the day the dragon was unveiled.

"Could you believe that? I've never seen anything like it!"

"Sure you have. Don't you remember the tournament three years ago? Those were even bigger than this one."

"It was incredible the way Professor Weasley could control it! He said it was because he'd known it since it was just a month old."

"Hagrid's had his favorite animals before, but the way he was carrying on about that thing was ridiculous."

Just then Ron entered the Great Hall and made his way straight to Harry. "Harry," he whispered excitedly, almost before he sat down. "You're not going to believe this, mate. It's Norbert! Blimey, I can't believe how much he's grown in six years!"

"No way! Are you sure?"

Ron nodded, having already stuffed a roll into his mouth. After swallowing he elaborated. "Charlie told me. He's a little tamer than most of them since Charlie basically raised him from a baby. That's why they thought it was safe enough to bring him here." Harry waited while Ron took another bite and washed it down with some pumpkin juice. "You should see Hagrid, though. Goin on and on about his 'baby' coming back."

"Ron!" hissed Hermione from across the table. Ron suddenly clamped his mouth shut, realizing he'd said too much aloud. Padma was sitting on the other side of Harry, staring at them with a thoughtful expression. Then she gave him a smirk.

"Another one of you three's secret adventures, I take it?" Harry nodded with a guilty grin. She laughed and told them it was OK, she didn't need to know about it if they didn't want to tell her. After sharing a look with Hermione, and then getting a nod from Ron, Harry told her an abridged version of how Hagrid had received a dragon egg and hatched it in secret, and how the three of them had persuaded him to ship the young dragon off to Charlie's dragon preserve before it got too big. He left out the details of just exactly how he and Hermione had managed to accomplish that.

"Anyway," Ron went on after Harry had finished, "Hagrid was wondering if you two would like to see him." Harry could tell that seeing Norbert again was not high on Hermione's list of things she wanted to do that day, but he felt some sense of obligation to Hagrid and she reluctantly agreed to go with him. Padma indicated that she was perfectly fine with them going to visit a dragon without her, thank you very much.

Hagrid gave them one of his typically enthusiastic rib crushing greetings and took them out to the isolated area near the Forbidden Forest where Norbert was being kept. When they arrived Charlie was speaking soothingly to the young dragon, who seemed to be responding favorably. Hagrid explained that Charlie needed to calm Norbert down between classes, because the dragon got edgy when so many students clustered around him. Trying not to think of the possible bad consequences of an 'edgy' dragon, Harry stayed back a little and just watched for a bit.

Since merely staying alive had been his main priority when he faced the Hungarian Horntail during the Tri Wizard Tournament, he had not really taken the opportunity to carefully study a full-grown dragon before. It had a long serpentine body with large membranous wings that could be folded against its sides or unfurled to approximately the same length as its body, which looked to be somewhere between eighty and one hundred feet from nose to tail. It had a very large head, but aside from that it looked rather like a snake with wings. On an impulse Harry decided to try speaking to it in Parseltongue.

"_Hello_."

Norbet immediately straightened up from Charlie, rising almost forty feet into the air, and stared directly at Harry. Harry nervously fingered his wand, trying to remember what the best shield against fire was. It occurred to him that Hermione surely knew it, and since she was standing right next to him he was probably safe. Just as he relaxed a little Norbert responded.

"_What human dares to speak in the noble tongue?"_

Harry swallowed nervously and stepped closer. _"Er, I'm Harry. Harry Potter."_

Norbert bent forward, bringing his head closer to Harry. _"I know you."_

Harry found it hard to believe that Norbert remembered him. He had only been a few weeks old the last time Harry had seen him. _"I …that is, my friend and I …" _He began to gesture towards Hermione only to realize that she had his arm immobilized in a death grip. _"We were the ones who carried you up to the top of the tower to send you to Charlie when you were little."_

"_Is that so? Then I am in your debt. I am sure that it would not have been pleasant growing up here in such a restricted space. It was much better being raised in the dragon lands with this kindly human."_ Harry merely nodded, confused. If Norbert didn't remember that, then how …?

"_No, the reason I know you is that your name is legendary among the Dragon Kin."_ Now Harry was even more confused. Why would dragons care about the Boy Who Lived?

"_Four dragons were taken from our lands several seasons ago and brought here to be used in some human contest. It angered the Kin greatly. But you alone fought with honor. You alone used the skills of the dragon in the contest – flying and cunning – instead of the human skills of magic. And you defeated the greatest of the Kin, but without causing injury to her or her eggs."_

"Harry," hissed Hermione, pulling on his arm, which had gone nearly completely numb by now. "What are you talking about? It's almost time for the next class to start."

"I'll tell you later," he murmered back. "It's not anything bad, so don't worry." Directing his attention back to Norbert, he replied, _"Thank you for the kind words. I am happy to know that the eggs were unharmed. And I am pleased that we were able to do you a service. But you don't need to be in my debt."_

Norbert regarded Harry for a moment. _"Nevertheless, I would like to do something for you in repayment. I assume that flying is something that you enjoy. Would you like to go flying with me?"_

"_Sure," _Harry responded eagerly. Going flying with a dragon sounded like fun, if it wasn't going to try to kill him. _"I'll need to get my broom."_

"_You misunderstand me. I would be pleased to give you and your mate a ride."_ At this Harry's eyes went wide and he turned excitedly to Hermione. But she did not seem to share his enthusiasm. She had been reaching out to sense his feelings since his last response to her, to reassure herself that whatever they were talking about wasn't too unpleasant, and she had a feeling of what had just been offered.

"Harry James Potter. Please don't tell me that you're about to ask me to ride a dragon with you." She winced a little inside as Harry's face fell.

"Come on, Hermione," he pleaded. "Look on the bright side. It has to be better than riding a thestral." Hermione tried to glare at him, but she couldn't maintain it against his pleading look. Her thoughts went back to the ride on Buckbeak and what it had meant to them both. Slowly a hesitant smile forced its way onto her face. Thinking she would probably regret this later, she gave him a reluctant nod.

-----

Although the lunchtime conversation had been narrowly focused, it was nothing compared to the single mindedness of the evening's dominant topic.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had ridden a dragon!

The reactions were … let's just say Fred and George would have been greatly amused. Charlie looked like he was ready to drop to the ground and worship them. Hagrid was nearly in tears in happiness. Most of the students who didn't know them personally stared at them in slack jawed awe, mingled with fear. If the two Head Students could bend a dragon to their will, what could they not do? The teachers who were most familiar with them just shook their heads and tried to hide their grins. Those two had been doing the impossible for years, so why should they be surprised at this? The three muggleborn first year girls, Laura, Carolyn, and Kristin, who had given Hermione the _Dragonriders of Pern_ book, ran to her squealing in delight. If they had not idolized Hermione prior to this, they certainly did now.

Harry and Hermione would have been much more uncomfortable about the whole thing were it not for their friends. To a person they were all impressed beyond imagining, but they also knew that Harry was uneasy with all of the attention, so they joked and kidded with them.

"Harry, you were only supposed to go look at the dragon, not ride it," teased Ron. Can't you get anything right?" If Ron was feeling jealous, he was hiding it well, Harry thought.

"Well, Ron, when an eighty foot dragon asks you if you want a ride, it's definitely an offer you can't refuse." That comment got a snort from Hermione, as well as chuckles from the other muggleborns. When their classmates cast inquiring glances in their directions, they merely shrugged. Movies were difficult enough to explain to wizards, much less movie quotes.

"Harry Potter, what do you think you were doing?" demanded Ginny, her eyes flashing dangerously. When Harry turned to face her nervously, she continued, "Riding that dragon without taking me or Ron with you." At this her face morphed into a smirk and she punched him playfully on the arm, and everyone laughed.

"Believe me, Ginny, I would much rather that you'd been up there than me," Hermione assured her. The two girls' eyes met briefly, Ginny wondering if Hermione really meant it and Hermione wondering if indeed she had and if Ginny suspected that her reply might not have been entirely truthful.

"Harry, I think we can make some money off of this," Seamus declared. "Next time, have Colin take your picture. Can you imagine the market for photos of the Boy Who Lived riding a dragon?"

"Better yet," Dean chimed in. "Sell the rides. Just think of the marketing possibilites. 'Ride a dragon with the Chosen One. One minute for one hundred Galleons. Personalized photo, ten Galleons extra.'"

"Admit it Potter," came the voice of Tracey Davis from the back of the group. You're just trying to pad the list of your accomplishments for when they finally get around to giving you your Order of Merlin."

Harry just couldn't stop laughing as the comments flew at him faster and faster. He was fully aware of what they were doing, and he was happier than ever that he had such a great group of friends.

The most eye-opening reaction though, was from Viktor Krum. Eventually the story got to him, probably through Mrs. Creevey Harry thought, and he called Harry on his mirror a few days later. One of their concerns about Voldemort's recruiting efforts was that he might enlist help from the dragons. With his ability to speak Parseltongue, a direct appeal from him might be able to sway a few. When he learned that the dragons respected Harry, he urged him to speak with Norbert again, and send a message with him back to the Dragon Kin requesting that they not side with the dark lord in this struggle. The next day, Harry snuck out to the forest to make the plea with Norbert, and the young dragon pledged to do whatever he could to persuade the other dragons to not fight against Harry Potter.

-----

At the beginning of December Harry received an interesting request from Professor Flitwick. At the beginning and end of every school year all of the students were given power level tests. They cast spells at a special metering device that was designed to measure the students' magical power. The levels were set so that a first year student's levels would be in the teens, a second year's in the twenties, and so on. The average for a wizard after graduation from Hogwarts was about eighty, and for a mature adult wizard the norm was a level of one hundred.

Harry had generally averaged in the middle of his class on these tests, while Hermione had usually been near the top. The year of the Tri Wizard tournament had been when Harry had achieved his best scores, which his teachers attributed to all the extra practice he had put in on mastering difficult spells during the tournament. Magical conditioning was similar to physical conditioning; if you practiced it a lot you got better at it, and your power increased.

Flitwick had been amazed at the beginning of the school year at how much Harry's power level had increased over the summer. At the time of his test near the end of sixth year he had been in the mid sixties. At the beginning of this year he had increased to the low eighties. It was unheard of for students to increase in power that much over the summer, when they were usually relaxing and not practicing magic very much. But of course, Harry and Hermione had been working hard on their magic all summer long, and the effort had paid off. Hermione had also been in the low eighties at the beginning of the year, up from the low seventies at the end of the previous year. She and Harry were now the most powerful students in the school. Ron's scores had increased also, but not as much, and he was in the top ten.

During the current term, Harry and Hermione had continued to be at the top of their Transfiguration and Charms classes (the only ones Harry was taking, and the only ones Hermione was taking that required a wand) and both Flitwick and Tonks had noticed that their power seemed to still be increasing. The power tests confirmed their observations.

McGonagall and Remus joined them in the third floor training room for the tests, as did Professor Longbottom who had also noticed their power increase during her private training with them. Their occlumency shields were now impenetrable. Casting a Reducto, which he felt was his most powerful spell, Harry was amazed to see that his three scores were 98, 100 and 101, for an average of just under 100. Hermione's averaged 96, and after a playful pout that he had finally gone ahead of her, she hugged him in congratulations.

At Harry's puzzled look, McGonagall explained that he was probably just a late bloomer. She pointed out his size and that he had always been small for his age but was now close to average height. And of course, the heavy training that they had been doing was continuing to help. In September they had been working hard for just over two months. They now had another three months of the strenuous regimen under their belts. If they kept it up they could expect their levels to increase another ten to twenty points by the end of the school year.

"Let me try again," said Harry, pulling out another wand. Except for Hermione, the others were startled to see Harry use a wand that was not his own, but kept quiet. He launched the spell again and this time the meter read 60.

Harry knew an explanation was required. "This is my Mum's wand. Olivander told me it was good for charms, so I've been using it in Charms class sometimes. At first I couldn't make it do anything, but I've been getting better with it." Remus stared at the wand in Harry's hand, nodding. He had thought it looked familiar. Harry continued, "I thought it might be a good idea to have a second wand available during a battle." Everyone agreed. Only three people in the room knew about the connection between Harry and Voldemort's wands, but even so a backup wand was a good idea.

Then Remus had another suggestion. He had noted that Harry's power increased with the level of his emotions. That in itself was not that uncommon, but it seemed to be more pronounced in Harry's case. He suggested that he try again and put some strong feelings behind it. Harry holstered Lily's wand and drew out his own, and tried to imagine how angry he was when the Death Eaters attacked the Burrow. The meter stopped at 109.

"Now try once more," Remus instructed, glancing at Hermione. "Imagine Voldemort putting Ron or Hermione under the Cruciatus curse. The image of Hermione writhing in pain filled Harry with rage and he hurled a blast at the target. 120. Panting, he turned and locked eyes briefly with Hermione. Even without their mental link she knew that it had been she who fueled his power surge.

"Harry," Remus said calmly while Harry settled himself down. "I assume you understand why we are doing this." Harry nodded. He needed to become much more powerful in a very short time in order to stand a chance against Voldemort. "There's a potion," Remus continued, "that can boost your power for a short time."

Hermione's eyes suddenly went wide. "We're brewing that in Potions this term!"

Remus nodded. "We'll make sure we have plenty on hand. You should try it out a few times before you have to face him to make sure your body is used to it. You can't take it too often, though, because your body will begin to break down with frequent use. But it can boost your power by another twenty percent."

"Harry!" Hermione suddenly remembered something. "Try it with your ring." Harry nodded and slipped his ring on his finger. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione shudder as her necklace responded and a smile flickered across his face.

'_Focus, Harry.'_ He smiled again as he heard Hermione's voice chiding him in his mind. She was right, he didn't need the image of where that necklace was resting in his mind right now. Clearing his thoughts, he calmly fired another Reducto blast at the target. It exploded!

Stunned, Flitwick created another one with double the strength of the first. Harry tried again. This time the measuring device read 201. Then bedlam erupted.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall was the first one to control herself enough to formulate a question. What on earth did you just do? The only wizards I've known who could score higher than that were Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle."

"That ring just doubled your power level," Flitwick pronounced. "You cast that without an emotional boost, correct?" Harry could only nod, amazed at what had just happened.

"Filius!" Augusta Longbottom spoke for the first time. "That must be a Ring of Power!"

"It can't be," objected McGonagall. "There are only three of those in existence and no one has seen one for more than a hundred years. They were all thought to be lost."

"A Ring of Power?" blurted out Harry, catching Hermione's eyes again. He remembered how she had teased him about Tolkien's One Ring when she had first examined his ring during the summer. He could tell that she was just as surprised as he was. _What do you know, _he smiled to himself, _something Hermione hasn't read about._ He noticed her mouth twitch slightly and he knew that she suspected what thought had just gone through his mind. He tried to look innocent and her mouth twitched again.

"According to legend, there were three Rings of Power," explained Longbottom. "One created by Merlin, one by Salazar Slytherin, and one by Godric Gryffindor. As Minerva just said, none have been seen for many years."

"Where did you get that ring, Mr. Potter?" demanded McGonagall.

"I'm not sure. It was either in the Black family vault or the Potter family vault." Remus suddenly stiffened as he recalled the excursion on Harry's birthday when they had obtained the rings and necklaces.

"Probably the Potter vault," decided Longbottom as she carefully examined Harry's ring. "I believe that this is Gryffindor's ring. The Potter family is among the descendents of Godric Gryffindor. There's no telling how many centuries this ring has been sitting in that vault, passed down from generation to generation."

Hermione suddenly had a terrible thought. "What if Voldemort has one of the rings too? Maybe that's how he got so powerful."

A realization struck Harry. "He did." All heads immediately swung in his direction. "The horcrux that Professor Dumbledore destroyed. It was Slytherin's ring." Slowly everyone nodded as they sifted the information in their minds and came to the same conclusion.

"Albus wore the ring last year, but wasn't affected by it," Flitwick pointed out. "Its power must have been removed when he destroyed it. The backlash from its destruction must have been quite powerful, given that it permanently ravaged his hand."

As Harry thought about it a bit more he grimaced. It was a good thing that Dumbledore had found and destroyed the ring. Now Voldemort wouldn't be able to use it against him. He wondered if the reason Voldemort had hidden it away instead of wearing it was that he was so egotistical that he thought he was powerful enough and didn't need to wear Slytherin's ring, or that he didn't realize the true nature of the relic that he had stolen from his grandfather Gaunt. Either way, they were very fortunate.

Hermione wasn't finished with that line of thought just yet. "What about Merlin's ring? Could Voldmort have that one?"

"No," declared Flitwick. "Merlin's ring would not work for a dark wizard. Indeed, it could be deadly to him." Hermione finally relaxed, satisfied with that line of reasoning. Harry came up behind her and hugged her to himself, and she leaned gratefully back into his arms. It had been an eventful evening.

"Mr. Potter," Flitwick said as everyone seemed to decide the evening's activities were over. You should put that ring on once a week or so to get your magic used to it. Unlike the potion we discussed earlier, your body can benefit from brief exposures. It is something like the exercising you are doing in this room. Over the long term it can make you stronger." Harry smiled as the thought occurred to him that his body wasn't the only one that would need to get used to him wearing the ring. A quick elbow to his ribs let him know that Hermione had deduced this thought as well.

"Professor Longbottom?" Hermione asked as one more thought came to her as they were leaving. "Why didn't Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff have rings?" Hermione, of course, was an equal rights witch.

"According to legend they had necklaces instead of rings. These necklaces were powerful as well, but were focused on defensive magic. You must remember, my dear, that society was different one thousand years ago. One story holds that Helga Hufflepuff's necklace was somehow linked to Gryffindor's ring so that she could transfer power to him in an emergency.

Harry and Hermione stopped abruptly. _'Ohhhh', _each one's voice sounded in the other's head simultaneously. Then each one threw a hand to their mouths, mirroring one another, while their other hands automatically clasped each other. Remus turned to give them a thoughtful look but said nothing. Harry and Hermione shared a long look as they followed the others out of the room, coming to a silent agreement to keep this last little bit of information to themselves.

By the time they got back to the Heads suite, Harry and Hermione were beside themselves with excitement. As soon as they were safely inside she whirled and grabbed him in a fierce embrace. They both knew exactly what the other was thinking. For the first time since Harry had heard the prophecy, they could see a possible way that he might actually be strong enough to defeat Voldemort. It was a long time before they calmed down enough to go to bed that night.

---------------

A/N The term 'Dragon Kin' as the way dragons refer to themselves comes from _The Halfblood Chronicles_ by Mercedes Lackey. It was my kids' idea to use it.

The movie with the line regarding 'an offer you can't refuse' is _The Godfather_.

I will be out of town for a while, so next week's chapter will be delayed.


	11. Dating Disaster, Part 1

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter, and for their suggestions as it went through several revisions. Also thanks to the reviewers who pointed out the typo last chapter where Hufflepuff's necklace somehow turned into a ring. I have made the correction.

---------------

**Chapter 11, Dating Disaster, Part 1**

December also brought even more twists to the soap opera that Hogwarts had become. After the Witch Weekly article had come out Susan Bones had approached Harry at the end of a DA meeting and demanded equal time for Hufflepuffs. Though everyone was aware that it was all in fun, Harry had laughingly accepted and Susan had the chance to spend a week as Harry Potter's girlfriend after his time with Padma ended. Thus it was mid-December before Harry and Ginny officially got back together again.

Luckily for Susan her week happened to coincide with an unannounced Hogsmeade day. Since Voldemort's forces were still in disarray from their most recent defeat, it was deemed to be a good time to let the students get out of the castle. Just to be on the safe side, the students weren't informed until the day itself, and there was a lot of scrambling at breakfast that morning as schedules were quickly rearranged and students made plans of where and when to meet.

Parvati and Padma playfully pouted that it was not fair that Susan got to have the Hogsmeade visit just because it happened to come during her turn, so Harry graciously hosted a table for them, as well as Hermione, Ginny, and Luna at the Three Broomsticks. There he gave each of them a hug and a kiss and presented each one with some of Honeyduke's finest chocolate as a token of his appreciation for them putting up with the Harry's Honeys nonsense. Of course, Colin couldn't resist taking more pictures, so Susan got to be in an official group picture also.

The impact that Harry's dating of Susan, then Ginny again only a week later, would have been expected to have on the Hogwart's gossip circuit was severely reduced by the news that Hermione had finally selected a boyfriend from among her suitors. It was Blaise Zabini. The idea that the muggleborn goody two shoes Gryffindor Head Girl was going with the Slytherin ladies man sent shock waves through the castle.

While Harry was uneasy about what Hermione was getting herself into, he publicly supported her decision. They had talked it over at length as Hermione sought his advice while she was considering it. He had thought that Ernie McMillan would be a better choice. Her reasoning was that she didn't see herself in a long-term relationship with any of the available boys at Hogwarts, so it didn't matter if they were that compatible. (In her mind the key word was _available_. The only boy she was interested in a long-term relationship with was already taken.) She decided that she wanted a no-expectations relationship like Harry had enjoyed with Parvati or Susan and was only in it to have a little fun. If Harry could have a fling with some of the most attractive girls in the school, she could go with the best looking guy. And, she admitted to Harry in a confidential aside that he found uncomfortably frank, Blaise turned her on more than the others did.

Ron was not happy at all with Hermione's choice, but he knew there was nothing he could say about it. He had expected her to end up with one of the Ravenclaws, Terry or Anthony. After all, who would be more suited to Hermione than a Ravenclaw? But while his and Hermione's friendship had recovered to the stage of being able to engage in polite conversation, he was certain that she would not be receptive to any relationship advice from him. He was well aware of Blaise Zabini's reputation, which was why he had wanted to keep the Slytherin from getting any ideas about his sister. Unfortunately, being more isolated due to living in the Heads suite, and not being inclined toward gossip in any case, the two head students were not as familiar with all of the stories about Blaise.

-----

Friday, December 20

It had been a rough month and a half for Ginny. While intellectually she knew that having Harry date several other girls was a good idea, and would be better for her in the long run, it had been hard to watch them with him. Parvati in particular took great delight in letting everyone know that she was dating Harry Potter, making quite a show of being with him every chance she got. While Ginny had to admit that it wasn't nearly as bad as the spectacle Ron and Lavender had put on last year, it was still hard to take. Now she appreciated Hermione even more, despite the fact that Hermione was much more competition for her for Harry's affections than any of the other girls. Her bushy haired friend had kept her 'girlfriend' status with Harry much more low key and had never flaunted it in Ginny's face.

Harry's short relationship with Susan was another blow to Ginny's self-confidence. While she knew full well that there was nothing serious about it, the fact that Susan was one of the more well-endowed girls at Hogwarts brought Ginny's body insecurities to the forefront. Sure, she knew that Harry had said that he preferred smaller girls, but what if a week with the buxom Hufflepuff changed his mind? She was well aware of the hard time the other boys had given him about Susan's assets.

Of course, when she had summoned her courage and asked him about it during one of their weekly secret dates (the last _secret_ one for a while, thank goodness) his response had been perfect. He had assured her that he liked her just the way she was. And while he was honest and admitted that it had certainly crossed his mind what Susan might look like in one of Hermione's tiny bikini tops, Ginny was the one he fantasized about. That had earned him a mind-blowing snog. And then it got even better.

"Seriously, Ginny, as far as I'm concerned the girl I'm falling in love with has a figure that's just right."

It was a few seconds before Ginny managed to find her voice. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she was going to pass out. "Do you really mean that?"

"That you have a great figure? Sure."

"No, the other part."

"That I'm falling in love with you? I think so."

Ginny was pretty sure her feet hadn't touched the ground all the way back to Gryffindor tower.

Tonight, she had decided, was the night she was going to make at least some of those fantasies a reality. She had waited patiently for the two of them to get to know each other better, and it had worked. They were much more emotionally connected than they had been. Now it was time to move their level of physical intimacy forward. She wanted him to see her. She wanted him to touch her. While she knew they weren't ready to make love yet, she intended to go at least as far with him as she had with Michael and Dean.

-----

Harry approached the Room of Requirement with some trepidation. Ginny had asked him to meet her there instead of walking down together, and he was pretty sure he knew why. While he was nervous, he figured that it was time. He was now deeply committed to this relationship, more than he had ever been.

When he entered the room it was quite different than its usual setting of a sofa in front of a fireplace. The light was low, being provided by candles spaced throughout the room, giving it a soft glow. The room was filled with comfortable cushions, pillows and throws and the floor was covered with a soft, thick rug. Off to one side was a miniature replica of the prefects' bath, complete with a miniature waterfall. It was the perfect setting for seduction.

Ginny was waiting for him, and had already removed her robes. As he removed his own, his eyes were captured by her outfit. She was wearing a simple blouse and skirt, but the blouse was untucked and partially unbuttoned. He could see no evidence that she was wearing a bra.

She came forward and took his arms and placed them around her neck, drawing him into a slow, sensual kiss while she began unbuttoning his shirt. When she finished she pulled back a little, and looked deeply into his eyes while she moved his hands down to the remaining buttons on her blouse, then began running her own hands up and down his chest.

Harry's heart was pounding, pushing blood to all the appropriate places as the objects of his fantasies came into view. Finally Ginny spoke. "Go ahead, Harry," she whispered. "You know we both want this."

Her buttons were completely undone, and his hands moved to her waist, which pulled her blouse further apart and exposed more of her to his view. Harry froze, trying to control his breathing. _Merlin, she was so beautiful!_ Ginny sensed his hesitation, and knew he needed more encouragement.

"It's OK, Harry. We've been together for six months. It's way past time that we took this step." Harry moved his hands up her sides and across her ribs as she trembled, her heart beating as hard as his was. Then Harry paused again with his hands just below her breasts, a slight frown crossing his face. _Six months. She had been with Michael Corner and Dean Thomas for about a year each. Did that mean?_

Ginny saw the frown and realized how nervous he was about this. He was so sweet. The other boys she had dated hadn't hesitated a bit. She just had to get him a little more comfortable and he would be fine. She leaned forward and kissed him again, then smiled encouragingly.

"Um, Ginny. I've never done this. Do you …? I mean, I don't … Have you, I mean, are you …?"

Unfortunately, Ginny completely misread his anxieties. She still thought he needed reassuring. She was the experienced one in relationships, while he was the novice. She had to let him know that she knew what she was doing, and it was all right. Her next action was one she would regret for the rest of her life.

She laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "Oh Harry, what do you think happens in the broom cupboards of this school?"

Harry froze again. Unbidden, the scene he had witnessed of Ginny and Dean kissing in the corridor forced its way into his mind. She had been pressing her body tightly up against his, and writhing sensuously. _If that's what they were doing in the corridor, how much further did they go in private?_ That image was replaced by one of her and Michael in a closet, fumbling with each other's clothing, Ginny gasping as his hands closed over her small breasts. That was forced out by an even more troubling one. This time it was her and Dean again. Her shirt was completely off and he had a hand on one of her breasts, while he bent his head to the other one. She began to moan as his tongue teased her nipple, while his other hand slowly rose up her thigh under her skirt.

"No!" he shouted, backing away, a look of horror on is face. "No! You didn't!" But he knew that wishing wouldn't make it true. She had. It felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart, and he stumbled as he retreated, his legs nearly giving out, his mind reeling. Try as he might, he couldn't get the visions out of his head, each more lurid than the one before. He shook his head futilely attempting to clear it.

"Harry! Harry what's wrong?" What are you talking about?" Too late, Ginny correctly interpreted the look of horror on his face as he backed toward the door. Dismay filled her face, mixed with guilt and terror. Harry saw this, and it was the final confirmation. He turned and fled.

Ginny sank to her knees in shock. _What had happened? Things had been perfect and then …_ His final expression before he turned away was etched permanently in her mind. A look of horror … and disgust. Ginny fell to the floor sobbing uncontrollably. In less than a minute's time her entire world had been shattered.

-----

Hermione was settling down on the sofa in their common room with a book. Harry had just left a few minutes ago, more nervous about this date than he had been all term. She had an idea why. She knew how much Ginny wanted this to happen and she hoped Harry was ready for it.

Then the portrait flew open and Harry tore past her and into his room, his door slamming behind him. Her connection to him was overwhelmed with a sense of dismay.

"Harry, what's wrong? What happened?" But by the time she got these words out he was already past and in his room. His door glowed briefly with a locking charm. She raised her eyebrows as she realized that he had used a charm that they had just discovered recently, one that she knew the counter to but that no one else in the castle would be able to undo. She opened her mind to him in case he wanted to communicate with her, but then she shrank back as overwhelming pain poured off of him. Much as she wanted to go to him and help ease his pain, she realized that he wanted to be alone right now. With a sickening feeling, a thought came to her about what might be causing this pain.

A minute later the portrait opened again and Ginny stormed into the room. Ignoring Hermione, she marched right up to Harry's door and tried to open it. Stepping back a step, she drew her wand and shouted "Alohamora!" Nothing happened. Desperate, she began pounding on the door. "Harry! Harry! I need to talk to you! Please, Harry!" There was no sound from the room.

Ginny turned and noticed Hermione and stalked over to the chair next to the sofa and threw herself into it. Hermione said nothing, merely observing for the moment. Tears had streaked Ginny's face, and her robes were open, having been thrown on haphazardly. Her blouse was untucked and incompletely buttoned. As the younger witch sat there breathing heavily, her sadness turned to fury.

"Don't say it!" she snapped at Hermione. "Don't say a word!" Hermione began to protest but Ginny cut her off.

"I know you. You're dying to say I told you so."

Hermione forced herself to remain calm. Ginny was hurting and needed to be able to vent her anger.

"You are the biggest prude in this school. You and him both." Now Hermione was getting annoyed. She didn't consider herself a complete prude. After all, which one of them was the one who owned the thong bikini and which one only owned a boring one piece? But Ginny was still going strong.

"What's wrong with you? Everyone in this school does that. No one else thinks it's so bad."

Ginny had finally run out of steam, so Hermione responded. "I doubt that I'm the only one. Harry obviously agrees with me." Ginny crossed her arms and huffed. "I imagine Neville does too." Ginny glared at her, but had to admit she was probably right about that one too. "I don't think Ron would be to happy to hear about your …"

"Don't talk to me about Ron! He's such a hypocrite. You know very well he had his hands all over Lavender last year. You know she makes sure all the guys she dates enjoy her 'assets'." Ginny practically spat out the last word. Hermione squirmed uncomfortably. When Lavender had been dating Ron last year she had tried to convince herself that that wasn't true. Ginny saw her discomfort and drove in for the kill. She was hurting badly and right now felt like taking everyone down with her.

"Maybe if you weren't such a prude he would have given you what you wanted. Maybe he knew he wouldn't get anything from you and that's why he …"

"That's enough!" Hermione snapped. "This discussion isn't about me. I'm not the one who just messed up my relationship with Harry."

Ginny burst into tears, the fury dissolving back into grief. "Oh my God! Hermione, what am I going to do?"

Despite her hurt at what Ginny had just said, Hermione crossed over and pulled her friend into a hug. Ginny sobbed into her shoulder for a while, her whole body shaking.

"I don't know Ginny. I think you just have to wait and see. You've just changed the way he thought about you. Unfortunately, he just discovered something about you that's upset him." _That was an understatement,_ she thought. "I don't know what will happen now. You know him, he'll probably brood about it for a month." Ginny managed a small, teary smile and nodded slightly. It wasn't much comfort but it was the best she could do.

Eventually, Ginny pulled herself together a bit. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier Hermione. I wasn't thinking and that was uncalled for."

"It's OK, Ginny, I understand. Sometimes we lash out at our friends when we're hurting badly."

Hermione gave her another hug and Ginny, after taking one last longing look at Harry's door, left the room and began the longest walk she had ever made to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione had just returned to her seat when Harry's door opened again. She turned to see him standing there frowning.

"Are you OK," he asked, looking concerned. "I heard all of the yelling. She had no right to say that to you."

"Harry, stop!" Hermione exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and crossed to him. "I should be trying to comfort you, not the other way around." As she reached him his shoulders slumped as his mind returned to the painful situation.

"I can't believe it. I just … I mean I don't … I …" He continued muttering incoherently as she guided him over to the sofa and sat him down next to her. Finally he stopped and looked at her questioningly. She swallowed hard, knowing what was coming next.

"You knew?"

"I'm sorry, Harry. I thought about telling you but I just couldn't. I mean …"

"No, I understand. I'd never expect you to betray a friend's confidence. I guess I should have figured it out. But maybe I didn't want to."

"I tried to tell her it was a bad idea even back then, but she …" Hermione paused. Harry probably didn't want to hear about how much Ginny had enjoyed that with Michael and Dean. "That's just the way she is, Harry. You heard what she said. Not everyone feels the way we do about it."

"Does that mean you think it's all right? Are you defending her?"

"No, not really."

"That's not the way I thought she was. I thought she was this sweet, innocent, loving, caring girl. I thought she was perfect."

"No one's perfect, Harry. No, not even me," she chided him in response to the way his head twitched toward her. A ghost of a smile flitted across his face and vanished. "You have to deal with people the way they are, not the way you wish they would be."

"I know that. But it hurts so much! I can't help thinking about her and … and seeing them …"

Hermione felt awful. It was painful to see him hurting like this. Her stomach was clenched into a knot, and she knew that his must be ten times worse. She reached out and took his hand and tried to send him as much comfort as she could.

Suddenly the portrait burst open again and Ron stormed into their room. _This is getting ridiculous, _Hermione thought,_ we should change the bloody password._ Before either of them could react Ron was across the room and had grabbed Harry's shirt and yanked him to his feet. Normally, with all the training he had been doing, Harry could have easily defended himself against this assault, but right now his mind wasn't focusing very well.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER!" Ron shouted, and simultaneously his fist connected with Harry's jaw. Harry's head snapped back and the momentum carried him over the back of the sofa as he crashed to the floor. Before he could take another step Ron found himself frozen in place from a wordless petrification spell from Hermione. With one arm she spun him around to face her.

Ron had seen Hermione angry plenty of times in his life, but he had never seen her like this. He didn't think he had ever even seen Ginny this angry. As Hermione pointed her wand at him he could see her furious face and blazing eyes and it occurred to him that he might have just made the costliest mistake of his life. Then she lowered her wand and raised her other arm.

SMACK!

If Ron had thought Hermione had a good punch when she had decked Malfoy four years ago, it was nothing like the one she had now that she had physically matured, and been lifting weights for six months to boot. When he regained his senses a bit later, one thought was attempting to etch itself permanently into his memory circuits. _Don't. Attack. Harry. In. Front. Of. Hermione._

Meanwhile Hermione had hurried over to Harry and helped him to his feet and back onto the sofa. She quickly cast some diagnostic charms and was relieved that Harry's jaw wasn't broken, but it was severely bruised. She cast the strongest pain numbing charm she knew. At that point she turned her fury back to Ron. With another flick he was levitated from the floor where he was trying to shake his head back and forth and deposited in the chair. She adjusted the spell she had cast so he could move his head and nothing else.

When Ron was finally able to think clearly (but not clearly enough or he would have kept his mouth shut) he started up again, still angry. "Ginny just went running up to her dorm crying, and her robes were open and her blouse was messed up. What the hell did you do?"

"Harry didn't _do_ anything, Ron!" Hermione shouted, her anger only slightly abated. "Maybe it's more what he _didn't_ do." She knew that wasn't quite correct, but it was the best explanation to give Ron. "Maybe she wanted him to do something and he wouldn't. Maybe she and you want different things from a relationship than Harry and I do." That last bit wasn't really necessary and probably a bit of a cheap shot, but she was in no mood to be reasonable right now.

Ron's mouth opened and closed a few times, while his brain tried to figure out what the heck she was talking about. It was now functioning fully enough that he realized that there was no way he was going come out ahead in this conversation. In fact, the best he could hope for would be if he managed to come out with no more damage than he had already suffered. He listened in growing shame as Hermione continued to berate him about his temper and jumping to conclusions. _He had done it again. When would he ever learn?_

"I … um … OK, I guess I … I don't really understand what happened. I'm sorry I jumped to a conclusion. I shouldn't have hit you before giving you a chance to tell me your side." Ron suddenly realized that Harry was not participating in this discussion at all. Had he hit him so hard that he couldn't talk? He looked like he was really suffering, and his blank stare made it seem that he was off in another world.

Hermione finally spoke again, this time in a cold, controlled, emotionless voice that somehow scared Ron even more than the rant. "Harry and Ginny have had a disagreement about their relationship. That's all you need to know. They are probably not going to be comfortable around each other for some time. The best thing we can do for them is to keep them from unpleasant encounters with each other. Good night, Ron. We'll see you in the morning."

---------------

A/N To reward you for waiting (patiently?) while I was out of town, I'm posting two chapters this week. They are both relatively short chapters and are related. I considered combining them into one long chapter, but decided to keep them separate. The second one will be up in a few days.


	12. Dating Disaster, Part 2

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter, and for their helpful suggestions.

---------------

**Chapter 12, Dating Disaster, Part 2**

Saturday, December 21

Hermione had slept only fitfully, trying to be alert in case Harry needed her. Finally, while it was still dark, she heard him stirring.

_You awake?_

_Yeah. Can't sleep anymore._

_Me either. Meet you in a few minutes._

Hermione had a few ideas for how to proceed with the day, since Harry still wasn't thinking too clearly. She suggested they have breakfast early, while only a few students were around, then exercise the rest of the morning. A hard physical workout might help keep his mind occupied, and if not it would at least exhaust him and allow him to sleep. So for the rest of the morning they ran, then lifted weights, then swam. Finally they dragged themselves back to the Great Hall for lunch, and avoiding the Gryffindor tables, joined a group of Hufflepuffs.

"What's going on?" Justin leaned over to ask her quietly. "The Gryffindors are all acting like somebody died and you two look terrible." Indeed, Harry was just sitting staring blankly ahead, not noticing much of what was going on around him.

"Harry and Ginny." Hermione replied. "They're having a bad time of it right now. I don't think either one of them is going to want to talk about it, OK?" Justin accepted that, especially since Hermione was the best friend of both of the Gryffnidors. By the end of the day the word had been quietly spread amongst their friends, and the students generally kept a respectful distance and didn't ask either of them about it.

After lunch Harry was exhausted and Hermione persuaded him to take one of the doses of Dreamless Sleep potion they had left over from the summer, and took a little nap herself. The rest of the afternoon she studied, then went down and got some food from the house elves when he didn't wake before dinner. Finally she returned to her room to get dressed for the evening.

She hated to leave him alone, but she had a date of her own that night. She knew she didn't dare cancel it. If anything would make him feel worse, it would be the thought that she was giving something up because of him. She just hoped he would be all right.

-----

Hermione finished the final touches on her lipstick and returned the tube to her bag, then checked her hair one last time. This was going to be the night. She had her hair just the way she wanted it, with enough potion to take out the bushiness and make it fall in nice curls. One last check in the mirror confirmed that her outfit was perfect too. She was wearing a slim gray skirt that ended a few inches above her knees, and a matching soft silky blouse that showed off her trim figure to its best advantage. Attractive, but not too forward, she smiled to herself. Underneath she was wearing her favorite bra and knicker set, in soft black satin with lacy trim. The bra was cut low with a deep plunging front. Like her mum had told her, it didn't matter if no one but her saw it, it made her feel good. She felt as feminine and desirable as she ever had. With any luck, she would get her first real kiss tonight. Although she would never admit it to herself, Ginny's accusation of her being a prude had made her even more determined to go through with this.

As she turned to go she saw her hand mirror sitting on the table. Might as well take it along, even though she was sure she wouldn't be needing it. Moody had them all just a little paranoid, she laughed to herself, as she also felt her wand in her thigh holder. She knew she could reach under her skirt and draw it in an instant if there were any trouble. She gathered up her robes and carried them out to her common room. Hopefully, they would be coming off at some point during the evening and Blaise would be able to admire the outfit she had selected so carefully.

Harry had awakened and eaten the food she had fetched, and was sitting on their sofa in the common room reading a book. As she emerged from her bedroom he looked up at her and smiled. She felt a flash of guilt for leaving him after his disastrous date of the previous night, but she knew he would object immediately if she suggested that she stay here with him.

"Wow, you look great!" Harry said, rising to his feet. "Blaise is one lucky guy." Hermione smiled, acknowledging the compliment and blushing just a bit. Harry gave her a hug and their eyes met, communicating without words. He was happy for her. She felt bad for him. He wanted her to forget about him and have a good time. She resolved to do it, knowing that he would feel even worse if he kept her from enjoying herself. As they pulled away he gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Don't wait up for me," she instructed. He just laughed, and then she joined in. There was no way that he wouldn't stay up to see that she got back safely, and they both knew it.

"Have a good time. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he teased. She grinned back but couldn't help thinking that she wished she were doing this with him. She shook her head a little as if to acknowledge that he could trust her to behave herself and stepped through the portrait hole. No, she wasn't doing this with him, but she was going to enjoy it anyway.

-----

Several hours later Hermione walked hand in hand along a deserted corridor with Blaise. The night had been wonderful so far. They had spent some time in the seventh year student lounge, and he had treated her to a delicious late night snack from his private stash of delectable desserts that he restocked from Honeydukes sweetshop on each Hogsmeade visit. Then they had strolled a while, stopping to look out some of the windows on the beautiful snowy landscape outside, just standing close with their arms around each other. He had also shown her some enchanted paintings of a night sky that she could just get lost in. Just a bit ago he had stopped and looked into her eyes, then leaned forward and touched his lips briefly to hers before pulling away. It had driven her to distraction and he knew it. Then they stopped in front of a door and she knew this was it. He opened it and pulled her into the broom cupboard, her first time ever in one with a boy. (Well, there was that time in third year with Harry, but that didn't really count because they were trying to save Sirius from being kissed by a dementor.)

It was actually a pretty cozy spot, she realized as she looked around. _I bet he's used this before. He probably knows all the good ones._ She shook that thought from her head as she pulled out her mirror and gave herself one last check, moistening her lips. She hesitated, then propped the mirror against her bag on the shelf, and turned to Blaise. She saw that he was removing his robes and shyly followed suit, then stood with her hands clasped nervously in front of her as his eyes traveled up and down, taking her in. All the time she had spent on her outfit was instantly worth it when his eyes widened and an appreciative look slowly grew on his face. He liked what he saw! Her heart started pounding as he approached her and put his hands on her waist, pulling her towards him. This was it. Her eyes closed as their lips touched and she fell into bliss.

Somewhat dazed, she opened her eyes and pulled away. That had been … incredible! It seemed that she had taken leave of her senses briefly. _Wait a minute! How did my blouse get unbuttoned?_ Instinctively Hermione felt against her leg for her wand. It was missing. She looked up in astonishment, to see Blaise smiling at her as he put her wand on a shelf, out of her reach.

"I don't think you'll be needing this."

"Blaise, this isn't funny," Hermione said, beginning to panic. "Give me back my wand." But he just grabbed her and pulled her up against his body and bent his head to hers, silencing her protests with another mind-blowing kiss.

-----

'_Harry!_'

Harry jerked his head up as he heard Hermione's panicked voice in his head. He had been sitting on the sofa all night, staring at his book but not really seeing it, his mind occupied with thoughts of two girls. He couldn't stop thinking about Ginny, and those thoughts made his heart ache. When he finally succeeded in pushing her out, he found himself with equally uncomfortable thoughts about Hermione. He knew instinctively what she had hoped would happen tonight, and he couldn't help feeling jealous, even though he had no right to. But now all of that was forgotten.

He reached out with his mind to try to pick up her feelings, but immediately recoiled_. Whoa, that wasn't something he wanted to know_. Embarrassed at intruding into such an intimate moment, he thought desperately. Why had she sounded so panicky just a bit ago? What was going on? Looking around, he summoned the Maurauder's Map and activated it. Finding the dot labeled 'Hermione' he saw that it was in a broom cupboard with Blaise's dot, just as he expected. But he also noticed that there were two other dots outside the closet, labeled as two fourth year Slytherins. Why would Blaise need guards for a snogging session?

"Harry Potter."

He looked around, confused. This time it was coming from his mirror. How could Hermione be calling him on the mirror while she was snogging Blaise? Tentatively, he pulled out his mirror and whispered "Hermione Granger?"

The mirror cleared and he found himself looking out into a small room. Hermione was backed up against a wall a few feet away from Blaise, trying to hold her unbuttoned blouse together. A sexy black bra was clearly visible through the opening. They seemed to be talking but he couldn't figure out what they were saying. Conflicting expressions were flowing across her face. Anxiety fought with ecstasy then was usurped by shame followed by confusion. Confusion? Hermione? Just then she caught his eye in the mirror and she seemed relieved, but she was immediately blocked from his line of sight as Blaise moved forward and took her into his arms again. Tentatively Harry reached out to try to sense her emotions again. They flooded into his mind, roughly matching what he had read on her face. Alarm, then confusion, then desire (he almost broke it off again, not wanting to intrude on such thoughts, but held on this time), then … nothing? Her mind was a blank. What did that mean? It hit him – _was she under some kind of spell?_

Frantically, he considered his options. His immediate instinct was to run as fast as he could to her rescue. He could easily take out the two guards, then break into the broom cupboard. But … that would come off as a jealous former boyfriend breaking up a snogging session – or possibly more. Hermione's shirt was already open, and it would probably be completely gone by the time he got there. And due to their stature in the school, the rumors would run wild. Hermione would be humiliated beyond belief. What he needed was someone else to rescue her, an authority figure. As his eyes darted around the room, they latched onto the floo. In an instant he ignited the fire and hurled in a handful of floo powder.

"Professor McGonagall!" he shouted.

In what seemed like hours, but was actually surprisingly quickly, her face appeared in the flames. "Mr. Potter. What is it? Don't you know how late it is?"

Harry didn't have time to feel bad about rousing the headmistress. "It's Hermione. She's in trouble!" In no time McGonagall was in the room with him, tying the belt of a tartan robe.

"What kind of trouble?"

Now, Harry was nervous. How was this going to sound? "She … she's in a broom cupboard with Blaise Zabini and he's … well he's taking advantage of her." He winced. How was he going to convince her?

McGonagall frowned. "Now Mr. Potter, I know very well what goes on in the broom cupboards in this school. And what Miss Granger chooses to do is really none of my business. I'm quite certain that she can take care of herself in such a situation."

"But she's in trouble."

If it were any other student, Minerva McGonagall would dismiss this as a case of hormones exploding into jealousy. But Harry Potter had earned the benefit of the doubt. "How do you know that?"

"We … well we have ways to communicate with each other. He's trapped her there and he has two guards outside. I'm sure …"

"Mr. Potter, how can you possibly …?"

"Here, look." He thrust the map at her, pointing to the dots in the closet and the ones outside in the hallway.

"My word, Mr. Potter! Is that what I think it is?" McGonagall said in astonishment. "Why, I haven't seen that since I confiscated it from your father and Sirius over twenty years ago!" Then it clicked into place. That was how Harry and his friends were able to move about the castle so freely on their adventures.

"Yes, it is. Please professor, we have to hurry." They had wasted so much time already, and the broom cupboard was all the way on the other side of the castle.

McGonagall made a snap decision. Trusting Harry Potter was rarely a mistake. And if he was right time was of the essence. "Follow me." She whirled and plunged into the floo and within seconds they were in the headmistress's office. Without a pause she hurried over to a space between two bookcases, tapped it with her wand and said, "Seventh floor, east tower," and a passageway opened. Beckoning Harry to follow, she hurried through and they emerged in an empty hallway.

'_Hang on, we're coming._' Harry quickly sent the most reassuring thoughts he could muster toward Hermione.

"First, we have to get rid of those two," McGonagall whispered as they looked at the map. "If I distract them can you sneak up on them?" Harry grinned at her and pulled out his invisibility cloak

"Is that …?" McGonagall had long since stopped being too surprised by anything Harry Potter did, but this night was taxing her ability to suspend disbelief.

"It was my dad's. Professor Dumbledore gave it to me first year." McGonagall could only shake her head.

'_Get me out of here!_' Harry jumped and McGonagall gave him a surprised look, then realized he must have sensed something from Hermione and they returned their focus to the problem at hand. In a blink the headmistress was gone and a black cat sat in her place. It darted into the hallway, and Harry followed under the invisibility cloak.

"Hey look, it's one of Figg's cats," one of the Slytherin guards pointed out a few seconds later. "We'll have to warn Zabini that he's about out of time." Before they could move, though, two red streaks hit them from behind, as Harry cast a pair of wordless stunning spells, then followed up with twin levitating spells before they even hit the floor.

"Get them out of sight around the corner, then come back. But stay out of sight until I've dealt with Mr. Zabini." Harry nodded and hurried off, the suspended forms of the unconscious pair of students bobbing in front of him.

-----

Blaise Zabini licked his lips. This had been an excellent night. Hermione Granger had been all he had hoped for. _Who knew that the studious Head Girl would turn out to be so passionate?_ He had never dated a muggleborn witch before, but he had heard that they were easy. After all, what all of them really wanted was to hook up with a pureblood. Up until now, he had considered them to be beneath him, but he was certainly enjoying himself with this one!

He knew that if he played it right, she would be too embarrassed to tell anyone about what they were doing. She might even come back for more another evening. She had been putty in his hands right from the start, and he could tell that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Except for a short bit back there when she had stepped back after one of their snogs and accused him of using her to get closer to Harry Potter, she was all his. She had melted into his kisses like he knew she would.

Now that he had her blouse nearly off, he wanted more. That low cut black lacy bra was driving him crazy. He had already run his fingers over it a few times, feeling her nipple perk up in response to his touch, but now he wanted to get his hands under it. Just then there was a sound from outside. _What were those two clowns doing?_ Tearing his attention from the lovely creature shivering in front of him, he cracked open the door and looked out. The hall was deserted, save for one of Figg's cats. _Blast it, those fourth years had probably run when they spotted it._ Now he had to get Hermione out of here before it managed to alert Mrs. Figg.

To his surprise, however, the cat ran by him into the broom cupboard instead of dashing away. _'Oh, this will work out after all,'_ he smirked as he quickly closed the door. As long as he kept the cat in here with them, it couldn't do anything. Now he would be able to finish his conquest. He turned back to Hermione.

And found himself staring straight into the angry face of the Hogwarts headmistress.

From nowhere a stunning spell hit him and the last thing that went through his mind before losing consciousness was the disbelieving thought that for the first time in seven years he had actually been caught seducing a girl.

Before Blaise even hit the floor Harry had whipped off the invisibility cloak and raced to catch Hermione. She had been leaning against a wall in a daze, and as she slumped to the floor her blouse fell the rest of the way off her shoulders. As he clutched her fiercely to himself she began sobbing.

"Harry! I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry …" her body shuddered against his, and he pulled her tighter.

"Shh. Hermione, it's OK. You're OK now. I've got you. It'll be OK."

McGonagall finished binding Blaise and turned to regard the pair of students huddled in the corner. This had been a night of shocks and they were still continuing. The revealing undergarment that Hermione was wearing and the fact that she had been here in a compromising situation with Blaise Zabini made her realize that she didn't know her Head Girl as well as she thought she had. A moment's further reflection led to the observation that Harry seemed to be completely unfazed that he was holding Hermione in such a state of undress, and that she seemed to not be having a problem with it either. Granted, she was in shock from her ordeal, but still … they were obviously quite familiar with each other. She clearly didn't know either of her Head Students as well as she thought she had. Perhaps more had gone on between them this summer than she had been led to believe.

She shook her head to clear away these musings. Whatever, it was none of her business. She waved her wand at Hermione's ruined blouse and transfigured it into a blanket. Wordlessly she handed it to Harry and he tenderly wrapped Hermione in it, somehow managing it even though she wouldn't let go of him for an instant.

"Mr. Potter, can you see Miss Granger back to your rooms? I will deal with Mr. Zabini. I believe we can leave the other two where they are. They will wake eventually and make their way back to their quarters."

Harry nodded and helped Hermione to her feet. She still wouldn't release him completely, and an occasional sob still escaped from where her head was buried in his sweatshirt. He looked around briefly and spotted her wand on a high shelf and summoned it to himself, then grabbed a mirror and Hermione's bag from another shelf. Finally he reached down to pick up her robes and his invisibility cloak and in a twirl of fabric they vanished.

-----

Finally back at their common room, Harry helped Hermione to the sofa and they dropped into it as he put his arm around her once more. Hermione finally regained her composure and pulled back.

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I'm so ashamed of myself. You must think I'm horrible. I'm …"

"Hermione, don't say that! You didn't do anything wrong. You know I'd never think …"

"But I did! He didn't drag me in there. I wanted him to. And I didn't fight back or anything. When he kissed me I couldn't resist. After what happened to you last night you probably think I'm a complete …"

"Stop, Hermione! I know you better than that. I know you didn't want him to go as far as he did. And you did try to stop him. I heard you call for help in my mind and you called me on the mirror. Look, when I tried to sense what you were feeling I could tell you were confused and didn't really know what was happening part of the time."

"You're right about that. I didn't really know what came over me. But I wanted him to …" A fresh round of tears interrupted her. "I just wanted someone to kiss me once and really mean it. Is that such a hard thing to ask?"

Harry pulled her back to himself again and she buried her head in his chest once more, her tears soaking into his sweatshirt. It felt so bad to see her hurting like this. She had just wanted the kind of affection that he couldn't give her. _'Why not, you prat!'_ an annoying voice in his head chided him.

"No one is ever going to want me, are they?"

"Hermione, don't say that. You're a wonderful, beautiful person and some day some lucky guy is going to realize how special you are," Harry reassured her. _Some day someone is going to think you're as special as I do. And I'm going to have to pretend to like him when he gives you what I can't._ "You just haven't met him yet."

'_Yes, I have,'_ Hermione thought sadly._ ' He just doesn't love me the way I want him to.'_

As he patted her and stroked her back the blanket she was still wearing fell away, reminding him that she was still clad only in her bra and a skirt. Without needing to think about it, he tugged his sweatshirt over his head and offered it to her. She looked down at herself shyly, then smiled at him in gratitude, leaning back to let the blanket fall away as she pulled his sweatshirt on. She didn't put her arms through the sleeves right away, though. After a little wriggling and twisting her arms emerged, with one hand holding her bra.

Her face darkened as she looked at the undergarment in her hand, then suddenly she burst into tears and hurled it across the room where it landed on his desk. Puzzled, he pulled her back into his arms and waited for her to recover her composure.

"I don't think I could ever wear that again," she whispered through the tears. "Every time I look at it I'll remember his hands touching me." Harry fought back the urge to find Blaise and kill him. He had no right to do that, especially to a girl like Hermione who had wanted that sort of thing to happen with someone who was special to her. Clearly that someone wouldn't be Blaise Zabini. _'It won't be me either,_' he found himself thinking, and for some reason that thought bothered him.

Eventually Hermione settled down and they both sat leaning back on the sofa, with her curled up against him under his arm, each knowing the other was thinking about the events of the past two days.

"Pretty horrible weekend so far, isn't it?" Hermione offered finally. Harry nodded his agreement. A thought had just occurred to him.

"What do you say we get away for a while?" She leaned away and regarded him quizzically. "We can go somewhere where we can take our minds off everything that's been happening," he explained. "How about if we go visit your parents in the States over Christmas break?"

Hermione brightened up immediately, the terrible ordeal of an hour ago temporarily forgotten. "Harry, that's a wonderful idea! Do you think we can? I mean, you don't have a passport or anything and the flights might be full and there are all sorts of details to consider."

"Well, we can try. Let's contact Viktor tomorrow and see what can be done. He's got to be familiar with international travel from being on his national quidditch team. Maybe it's easier for wizards." Hermione readily agreed and leaned back against him, her mood now much improved.

Eventually, as the stress of the evening finally wore off, they began to yawn and Harry stood up and reached a hand out to pull Hermione to her feet so they could head off to bed.

"Harry?" He paused, seeing an anxious look reappear on her face. "Do you think you could stay with me tonight and hold me. You know, like you did this summer?"

"Of course I will," he reassured her. "You know I'll always be here for you." She relaxed and smiled again, then looked around. Retrieving her wand, she transfigured the sofa slightly to make it wide enough for both of them to lie down. Then she reached back under the sweatshirt and undid the zipper of her skirt and let it drop to the floor. Harry sat down and turned away slightly as she stooped down to pick it up and fold it, and he removed his shoes. She kicked off her own shoes and pulled the blanket over herself, then crawled across the sofa. Their eyes locked momentarily as she lifted up the end of the blanket in an invitation to him to join her.

Harry swallowed nervously. _Come on, this is Hermione. We've done this before. She just needs you to comfort her. Don't make such a big deal out of it._ He knew, though, that it really wasn't the same as it had been this summer. This time he recognized that his feelings for her were different now.

For an instant Hermione thought he was going to back out, then she breathed a sigh of relief as he scooted under the blanket with her. She turned away as he snuggled up behind her, then she took his arm and pulled it around her waist, holding it against her stomach. She couldn't help the happy grin that broke out over her face as he whispered a _'Nox'_ to put the lights out. For one night at least, he was where she had dreamed he would be.

---------------

A/N I imagine that these two chapters may be somewhat controversial regarding the sexual activities of Hogwarts students. This is my view on what goes on in the castle. Just to clarify, Hermione was just looking for some snogging, but got more than she bargained for. Ginny has not had sex with Harry or any of her other boyfriends. She had engaged in some fondling with the other two (more details in a later chapter) and wanted to do the same with Harry. At this point Harry is not sure exactly what she did in her other relationships, and his imagination is torturing him.

In this story, there is some sex at Hogwarts, like there is in any high school, but it's not rampant - more talk than reality. More on that next chapter. Of course, there are varying degrees of groping going on, depending on the age, maturity level, self control, and inhibitions of the students involved.


	13. Consequences

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter, and for their helpful suggestions.

Apparently, posting two chapters last week was a bad idea. There were quite a lot fewer hits on the chapter I posted Wednesday, and only half as many reviews. I guess I'll go back to posting one a week.

---------------

**Chapter 13, Consequences**

Sunday, December 22

Harry awoke slowly, feeling surprisingly well rested. As he became aware of his surroundings and the fact that his best friend's head was lying on his chest, the events of the previous evening quickly returned to his mind. During the night they had shifted positions, and he was now lying on his back with his arms around Hermione, who was using his chest for a pillow. It was a marvelous feeling. It made him pause and reflect on how lucky married people were. What an amazing thing it would be to be able to wake up every morning with someone you loved in your arms. Recently he had been thinking that it would be Ginny that he would share that experience with, but now? Now he wasn't sure about anything anymore. Why not Hermione? It was just so difficult for him to change the way he thought about her, the category he had placed her in. For so many years it had been 'best friend' not 'potential romance'. It was scary for him to have to acknowledge that the way he had her labeled was no longer accurate.

Hermione gradually transitioned from the land of dreams to the world of wakefulness, only to discover to her delight that the two weren't that much different this morning. She was in bed with Harry. He had his arms around her. Could they please stay like this all day? She gave up and opened her eyes, only to look up and see him gazing at her. There was a look in those green eyes that made her heart skip a beat. Did it mean what she thought it did? But then, as soon as she caught his eyes with hers, it was gone.

"Good morning," she smiled up at him.

"Hey. Feeling better today?"

_I just woke up in the arms of the man I love. I'm feeling bloody fantastic!_ "Much better, thank you." But then she thought about what had happened last night, and what that would mean for today and her face dropped. "But I don't think I'm looking forward to today." She bit her lower lip in thought, then continued. "I'm not up to dealing with everyone's reaction. I need some time to think about what happened, to reflect, to take a look at myself and figure myself out. Then maybe I'll be able to deal with what other people are going to say. Does that make sense?" It was getting awkward to keep tilting her head back to look at him, so she reluctantly disengaged herself from his arms and sat up.

"Hermione?" She looked back at him and waited. "Today's Sunday. Last summer when I needed to think about things it helped me get some perspective some of the times we went to church together."

"Oh Harry, what a great idea! That's just what I need. Let's go."

Her mood lightened, Hermione stood up and stretched, and as she did the sweatshirt she was wearing rode up to her waist. Harry's eyes grew wide, then he reddened and quickly turned away. He had just been abruptly reminded that Hermione had spent the night sleeping with him, wearing nothing but the sweatshirt he had given her and a pair of knickers. A very attractive pair of knickers.

"Hermione?" his voice squeaked. "Do you think you could put some more clothes on?"

His response was a giggle as she walked unhurriedly to her room. At the door she turned and announced, "I'm not worried. You're too much of a gentleman to notice."

Harry managed to return his voice to normal. "I'm a seventeen year old boy," he called after her. "Of course I noticed!" Then he went into his own room, shaking his head. If Hermione was in a good enough mood to tease him, she must be feeling better.

-----

They quickly showered and dressed, and added the blonde coloring to their hair to recreate their disguises from the summer. Then they flooed McGonagall to tell her they would be out of the castle for the morning. After hearing their plans, she reluctantly agreed, then told them she would need to speak to them later about the incident of the previous night. They activated their portkeys and appeared in the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place.

"Hello! Anybody home?"

They were immediately greeted by an enthusiastic Dobby who insisted on preparing them a full breakfast. Viktor joined them and they shared an enjoyable meal. When they told him of their vacation idea, Viktor informed them that it would be possible but it would take a few days to make arrangements to get to the States, and they decided to plan on going on Christmas Eve. They would stay at Hogwarts until after the Yule Ball the next night, then have a few days to pack and get ready for the trip. Viktor also allowed that it would be a reasonable time for them to be out of the country, since Voldemort was currently concentrating his recruiting efforts on the continent and they didn't expect any initiatives on his part until after the New Year.

When breakfast was finished they thanked Dobby and apparated to the house on Turnbull Court which they hadn't seen since September first. After looking around briefly to see that everything was in order, they made their way to the neighborhood church they had attended that summer. It was just what they needed. Several people remembered them and greeted them warmly. The minister had an uplifting message about preparing for Christmas, talking about hope and forgiveness. And the songs they sang were bright and festive. They were in much better spirits when they returned to Hogwarts.

Deciding she was still not ready to face the other students, Hermione told Harry to go down to lunch without her. As soon as he entered the Great Hall several of his friends hurried over. Over at the Gryffindor table he caught a glimpse of Ginny, who quickly turned away and a fresh twinge of regret sliced through him.

"Harry, we're glad you're here." Ernie and Justin were the first to reach him, and Harry decided to join the Hufflepuffs so as to avoid having to confront Ginny. "What's going on? There are all kinds of rumors about Hermione and Blaise. Neither of them has been seen all day and some people are saying they're off together somewhere. We want to put a stop to the rumors, but we need to know what to say." By now some of his Gryffindor and Ravenclaw friends had also joined them, and they all nodded, willing to do whatever they could.

"OK, here's the deal," Harry responded. "Hermione's fine. She's back in the room right now. She and Blaise were on a date last night and …well it didn't end too well." He paused, knowing that something vague like that would only fuel the rumors. "Look, without getting into too much detail, they had a good time but he wanted to go further than she was comfortable with. Nothing happened though," he looked at each of them fiercely until they all nodded in acknowledgement. "They were caught by Professor McGonagall before he could do anything. She apparently heard something while she was walking along a corridor. I think maybe one of Mrs. Figg's cats gave them away. As you can imagine, Hermione's embarrassed to death and doesn't want to face anyone. If you could spread that around we'd really appreciate it."

"You've got it," Ernie pronounced. Everyone agreed. Looking around Harry saw nothing but concerned faces. Even the gossip lovers like Lavender wanted to help. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and a warm feeling surged through him at the realization that they had such loyal friends. As everyone broke up to return to their tables, Ron pulled him aside. Amazingly, Harry hadn't been upset with him about the punch the other night, apparently deciding that Ron had only been justifiably concerned for his sister.

"Ginny's still a mess," he said in a low voice. "It's probably a good idea for you to stay away for a while."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry returned gratefully. "You and Neville look after her, OK?" Just then he noticed Ron's face break into a scowl as he looked past Harry's shoulder. Turning around he saw Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass hesitantly making their way over.

"What do you two want?" Ron snarled. "Hasn't your friend caused enough trouble?" Harry put his hand on Ron's arm to calm him down. Ron had never been happy at the thought of Blaise going out with Hermione.

"Ron, you can't blame them for what Blaise did. It's not their fault." Without another word, Ron turned and stalked away.

Tracey was more nervous than Harry had ever seen her. "Actually, we do feel that it's partly our fault." Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Can we come over later and talk to her?"

"Sure, but how about giving her a bit more time? Maybe after dinner?"

-----

That afternoon McGonagall met with them and informed them that she couldn't only punish Blaise. Because he was a Prefect and Hermione was Head Girl, they had the complete run of the castle, so neither was technically in violation for being out after hours. And since Hermione had apparently gone into the broom cupboard willingly, they were both guilty of inappropriate behavior. The only alternative that would result in a harsher punishment for Blaise would be if Hermione wanted to make a sexual assault complaint, but that would raise some messy questions. Hermione willingly agreed to accept equal detentions if it would put an end to the matter, and Harry reluctantly concurred.

McGonagall then informed her that her detention would be to spend several evenings with her head of house, Professor Lupin, working on whatever he deemed appropriate. Blaise would receive a similar detention with his head of house, Professor Slughorn. Harry and Hermione would later find, to their amusement, that Lupin's idea of 'appropriate work' was for her to spend her detention researching spells to use against Voldemort.

-----

Harry and Hermione were ready when the knock came at their portrait hole that evening. Ron had insisted on being present when the Slytherin girls visited (just in case), and was hiding across the room under his invisibility cloak. As soon as they entered, both girls ran to Hermione to give her hugs.

"Hermione, we're so sorry to hear what happened. We feel like it was partly our fault," Tracey said as Harry pulled up two chairs, then sat down with Hermione on the sofa.

"I don't understand," Hermione said with a puzzled look. "You don't have any control over what Blaise does just because he's in your house."

"Yes, but we could have warned you," Tracey replied. "We know what he's like. It's just that … well we don't really know you that well and weren't sure if that's what you wanted or not. You seemed to be happy with him, and …" She shrugged.

"I see. I guess I was pretty naïve, but …" She decided it wasn't necessary to explain her relative inexperience in dating. That must be pretty obvious by now. "So he's done this before?"

Tracey snorted. "Only with every girl he's ever dated. And just so you know, it's an exclusive club. He only dates the most attractive girls in the school."

That made Hermione feel a little better, but her shoulders slumped as she relived the experience. Even if he had done it with other girls, she knew she had responded to him and led him on. She had enjoyed what he was doing. At least it seemed so.

"I still don't think she understands," Daphne said, abruptly breaking into her thoughts. "You're feeling guilty about it, aren't you?" Hermione nodded sadly. "See, the thing is, Zabini's mother is part veela and he has some of that ability. In his case it means that girls get incredibly turned on by him when he kisses them. You felt like you lost control for a bit, right?"

Hermione could only nod again, but perked up a little. Now things were starting to make more sense. Daphne continued. "He's pretty good at sensing how far a girl's willing to go, then pushing just a bit further. If they decide they like it after all, he pushes even further on the next date."

"_Some_ girls," Tracey broke in, smirking at Daphne, "like it so much they let him go all the way."

Daphne tossed her hair back hautily, not looking the slightest bit guilty. "I enjoyed it. I got what I wanted out of the relationship; he got what he wanted."

"I didn't want that at all," Hermione objected. "But when he kissed me my mind just went blank. And then I noticed that he had unbuttoned my blouse part way and I panicked." She felt Harry tense up beside her and reached out to squeeze his hand reassuringly. _'It's OK now,'_ she sent toward him mentally.

"When he did that to me I hexed him," Tracey announced triumphantly.

"But … when I came back to my senses he had reached under my skirt and taken my wand," Hermione protested.

Tracey and Daphne stopped and shared a look, the bantering attitude suddenly turning frosty. "I think we need to have a talk with Mr. Zabini," Tracey intoned coldly.

Something they had said earlier had intrigued Harry. "So you two keep track of all of Blaise's relationships?"

"We keep track of all the relationships at Hogwarts," Tracey confided. "We make it our business to know exactly who's doing what with who." At Harry and Hermione's gaping expressions she went on. "Knowledge is power. You never know when you might need some leverage on someone." She gave them a shrewd look. "Would you like to know which of your fellow classmates are shagging?"

Suddenly she went rigid. That last question had caused a barely detectable muffled gasp across the room. Harry gulped. This could answer the question that had been torturing him about Ginny. Did he really want to know?

After a quick glance between the two Slytherins Tracey casually reached for a parchment and quill while Daphne suddenly spoke up. "You know, the only relationship we had absolutely no clue about was between the two of you. You either have incredibly loyal friends or you never said anything to anybody. In our experience there's always someone who knows something and we eventually find out. But with you guys …"

While she was making this pronouncement, Tracey was writing something. _Is there anything that someone in the room shouldn't hear?_

Harry reached over and wrote back. _Ginny?_ There was no way he could let Ron find out what he suspected.

Tracey grinned and wrote. _She's OK._ She gave a nearly imperceptible nod to Daphne who broke off her commentary on Harry and Hermione's relationship. Harry slumped back in his chair in relief.

"Shall we start with the Gryffindors?" Tracey began with a twinkle in her eye. "Since you roomed with him you probably know how Dean Thomas likes to brag about his conquests. Well, despite what he wants everyone to believe, he never shagged any of the girls he went out with. He never did more than a little bit of fondling. Until this year that is. Let's just say that Lavender Brown made a man out of him." Hermione gasped and put her hand to her mouth. Normally she wasn't one for gossip but this was too much. Then Tracey turned to Harry. "Of course, as you probably know she had practice last year with your good buddy …"

"No! That's not true!" A tall redhead suddenly appeared across the room as his invisibility cloak dropped away, a terrified look on his face. "We never shagged!" he sputtered. "I didn't do anything more than feel her up a little. I only had her shirt off once."

Tracey and Daphne burst into laughter, and gave each other high fives. Harry and Hermione were startled for a second, then joined in. Harry was quite impressed. The Slytherin girls had figured out who was under the cloak and executed a clever ruse to expose him. In more ways than one. They turned back to Ron who just stood there gaping at them, his face going even redder than his hair as he slowly realized that he'd been had.

Eventually he calmed down, and sheepishly agreed that they had pranked him but good. As the three visitors prepared to leave, however, Hermione pulled him aside.

"Ronald Weasley, you are not going to say anything to either Dean or Ginny about what we heard here tonight. Do you understand me?" He started to object, as that had been exactly what he had in mind, but she stifled him with a fierce glare. "They didn't do anything that you didn't just admit doing with Lavender." He opened and closed his mouth a few times. She had him and he knew it. "Not one word." Reluctantly he bowed his head in acknowledgement.

When everyone had gone Harry and Hermione collapsed once more on the sofa. Harry swallowed nervously, making up his mind to take the plunge he had been deliberating about all day. He decided to try a casual approach.

"Well," he said, turning to her. "It looks like neither of us has a date for the Yule Ball. What do you think …" Her reaction was not what he expected.

"Oh Harry," came the tear-filled response. "I don't know. I'm just tired of pretending."

Harry reached out and lightly touched her chin, turning her face towards his. Her eyes went wide as he bent his head toward hers and captured her lips in a gentle, but firm kiss.

"Harry?" she whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Kissing you like I really mean it," he said solemnly, the look in his eyes making her insides melt. "I'm tired of pretending too."

He put his arms around her and drew her closer to him, kissing her again. Softly, caringly, lovingly, tenderly. Exactly the way she had dreamed it would be. Her hands reached up and closed together behind his head, her fingers threading through his hair, not willing to let him get away anytime soon. _Harry is kissing me! Oh my god! Harry is kissing me!_ It was all she could think of as her dreams finally became reality.

-----

While Hermione was having her dreams come true, someone else was having a far less pleasant experience deep in the dungeons below the castle.

"Auugh! Bloody hell, what do you women want from me?" Blaise Zabini was magically restrained and tied to a chair. Daphne had been hitting him with tinging hexes, but Tracey had gone for the direct approach and slapped him several times.

"Dammit, Zabini! What were you thinking? We just spent the last three months getting Potter to trust us and you go and pull a stunt like that. How are we supposed to convince him that we're on his side now? His buddy Weasley's ready to take on all of Slytherin house now."

"I can handle Weasley," Blaise retorted sullenly.

"Oh really? And can you handle Potter too? The only reason he hasn't already killed you is that Granger stopped him."

That knocked some of the cockiness out of Blaise, but it puzzled him. "What's he so upset about? He's going with Weasley now. Got a little bit of her for himself the other night from what I heard." Tracey shared a disgusted look with Daphne. There was no reason to get into that mess right now.

"Because Granger's his best friend, you moron! How can you have been a student here for the past six years and not noticed how protective he is of her?"

Blaise became decidedly more uncomfortable as that realization sunk in.

"But I don't see what the big deal is anyway. It's not like I did anything that a hundred other girls wouldn't like. She wanted it."

"Zabini, how can you pretend to know anything about Hermione Granger and say that you knew she wanted to go that far? She's one of the most straightlaced girls in this school."

"But she's a mud…, I mean a muggleborn," Blaise hastily amended, barely saving himself from another slap from Tracey. "They all want that. I could tell by the way she was dressed. You should have seen the bra she was wearing. She was asking for it."

"Bollocks! Haven't you learned anything from all those weeks of Muggle Studies? That old stereotype is a bunch of rubbish. Lots of muggles dress that way and it doesn't mean they're asking for it. That was the whole point of learning how muggles dressed for that dance."

Blaise slowly went pale as the consequences of his amorous advances gradually dawned on him. Having Potter as an enemy was exactly what they had wanted to avoid this year.

"Oh crap. I guess it's lucky that McGonagall happened along when she did."

"I'm not sure it was a coincidence," Daphne pointed out. "You never saw her wand when she stunned you, right? And I think those fourth years you had watching were stunned too. I bet Potter was there with McGonagall and you just didn't see him. I think Potter and Granger have some way of communicating with each other," she added thoughtfully. "The way they sometimes seem to be exchanging information without talking is creepy."

"But that's not the point now," Tracey interrupted, getting back to the issue at hand. "You are going to apologize to Granger as soon as we get back from holiday. I don't care if you have to go and grovel on your hands and knees. We are not going to let you mess up what we're trying to accomplish here because you can't control your bloody hormones."

"What about at the Yule Ball tomorrow night?"

"Blaise Zabini, you are not going to be anywhere near that ball tomorrow. If you show up and Granger gets upset, not only Potter and Weasley but every male member of the DA and probably most of the female members are going to hex you into pile of goo. And if there's anything left of you I will personally make sure you no longer have the ability to father children. Is that clear?"

Blaise could only nod.

-----

Higher up in the castle, Harry and Hermione had parted for the night and she was currently hugging her pillow and squealing with delight. Over in his room, Harry was staring thoughtfully at an ancient parchment. Slowly a small, satisfied smile crept onto his face.

"Mischief managed."

-----

Hermione awakened slowly the next morning, and in that transitory period between sleep and wakefulness she wondered, _Was it all a dream?_ No, she finally decided. It was real. Harry had finally kissed her 'like he meant it'. And oh, it had been wonderful. She closed her eyes again and let the warm feeling wash over her. They were finally together … or were they? She opened her eyes again. What were they exactly? All he had actually said was that he was tired of pretending. They hadn't really talked much after that, they had been too busy kissing. She giggled at that thought, then turned serious. Harry had been very serious about Ginny. Sure, he was hurting right now about what he had discovered, but feelings like that didn't just disappear overnight. Hermione had a sinking feeling in her stomach as another thought hit her. Was this just a rebound relationship?

In a sense, that was exactly what it was. But Hermione knew that he already had strong feelings for her too, even before this happened. Perhaps he had been suppressing any romantic part of his feelings for her while he was with Ginny. If so, this wasn't necessarily something that had come out of the blue. Was it? Or was that just wishful thinking?

Hermione's spirits fell as her dutiful side took over. She knew what she should do. She should back off until he sorted out his feelings for Ginny. She should … No! She was tired of always having to be the one who did the 'right' thing. She had backed off long enough, she thought rebelliously. _Ginny had her chance!_ If Harry had feelings for Hermione this was her opportunity to find out. She could sense his presence out in their common room right now. She should go out and discuss this with him. Now, all of a sudden, she was nervous. _Where was this going to go?_

-----

Harry was sitting on the sofa, the same sofa that had been the scene of so many dramatic episodes the last three days, trying to sort out his thoughts. Last night had changed his relationship with Hermione. But what about Ginny? It still hurt every time he thought about her. The easy thing to do would be to avoid thinking about her, but would that be fair? After all, like Hermione had said last night, she hadn't done anything with her other boyfriends that Ron hadn't done with Lavender. Was that so bad? But … the realization hit him like a brick. He didn't want someone like Lavender. He wanted … someone like Hermione.

Just then Hermione emerged from her bedroom and Harry turned to smile at her. But Hermione's return smile seemed a little strained. She looked anxious as she came over and sat down on the couch. At the other end of the couch. Now Harry began to be apprehensive. He began to think that maybe last night had been a big mistake. If there was anything he absolutely didn't want to happen, it was for them to become awkward around each other. He needed to say something before it got even worse.

Hermione was growing more uneasy by the second. Harry had looked happy to see her when she walked into the room, but his smile had faltered when she had come over to him. Was he remembering their kissing last night and thinking it had been a big mistake? She needed to say something right away.

"We need to talk," they both blurted out at the same instant. Then they laughed and the tension eased. "You first," Harry continued.

The carefully reasoned argument that Hermione had prepared had fled her mind. "Are you having second thoughts about last night?" she blurted out. _Argh! That wasn't the way she had intended to ask that at all._

"Not until you walked into the room," Harry replied, with his usual bluntness. Hermione felt her stomach clench. _Had her mere presence made him that uncomfortable?_ Harry continued, "I smiled at you and you didn't smile back. Then you came over and sat down, but you put all this distance between us." He gestured to the space between them with his hand. "And now you're sitting there with your arms crossed and your knees drawn up like you're afraid of me. If what happened last night is going to make us all awkward around each other, then I definitely regret it. I really need my best friend who I can be comfortable around."

Hermione took in everything he had said and processed it carefully. That had been quite a long speech for Harry. It hadn't been at all what she had thought he would say. Then she figured it out. _Oh. Oohhhhhh._ The nervousness vanished and her mood skyrocketed. She scooted over and budged up against him, then lifted her head up and smiled at him. "Is this better?"

He smiled back and put his arm around her shoulder, and she snuggled even closer. "Much better."

It was time to get it out into the open. "So," she prompted, "are we together now … for real?"

His answer was more serious than she had expected, but on reflection she decided that it was a good one. "I think I want to try. I need to be honest with you, though. I'm really mixed up about what I feel for Ginny now. But I've also realized for the last month or so that my feelings toward you have changed. I think I want to try to figure out exactly what that means. Can you accept that?"

Hermione decided that she should be completely open with him, too. "Well, I realized that my feelings toward you had changed by the end of the summer. I've been trying to keep them to myself because you were with Ginny." The absence of a look of shock on Harry's face confirmed for Hermione that he had already suspected some of what she was telling him. "So I want to try it too. Even if we eventually decide we're better as best friends, and you decide you want to be with Ginny after all, it will be better than having to wonder for the rest of my life if we might have had something." Feeling particularly bold, Hermione leaned up and touched her lips to his. To her delight, he responded enthusiastically.

The need for air eventually made them pull away. When he had caught his breath, Harry turned serious again. "Um … Hermione. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but as far as what we actually _do_ together, do you think … I mean … could we maybe take it slow?"

Hermione pretended to pout. "You mean now that we're finally together after all these years we shouldn't immediately go crazy with desire and pull each others' clothes off and make mad, passionate love right here on the sofa?"

The expression on Harry's face was so startled that Hermione burst out laughing, and had to hold onto him to keep from falling off the sofa. Once he realized that she had been putting him on Harry joined her laughter. "Oh Harry. That sort of thing only happens in really bad romance novels." She managed to settle herself down and continued in a more serious vein. "After what we both went through the last few days I think that's an excellent idea. How about if for now we stick with the way we acted toward each other at the beginning of the term?"

"Except we won't be pretending this time," Harry amended. Then he added. "And with more kissing."

"Definitely more kissing," Hermione agreed happily. "Lots of hugging and kissing."

"Sounds like a good plan," Harry concluded. "So, what do you want to do today? I'm still pretty sore from all the exercise you hit me with on Saturday."

Hermione giggled. On an impulse she hopped onto his lap and leaned against his chest. As she had hoped, his arms automatically went around her and he hugged her to himself. This was getting off to a fantastic start! "Well," she said, going into practical Hermione mode. "We should still exercise a little bit. You can pick, running or swimmng. And we should get in some spell training. And we need to pack. And later get ready for the Yule Ball. And if there's any time, we can always study a bit."

"This is the first day of Christmas break, and you think we should study?" Harry teased, an amused expression on his face.

"That's right." Hermione replied, grinning.

"Being the boyfriend of Hermione Granger means a lot of time spent studying, doesn't it?"

"Mm hmmm," she responded, burying her head against his chest again. The word 'boyfriend' had sent a thrill through her.

"But we can stop and take study breaks occasionally, right?"

"Mm hmmm." Hermione lifted her head and found his lips again to illustrate what kind of study break he could look forward to.

"This is going to be a lot more fun than when we were pretending, isn't it?"

"Mmm hmmmm."

-----

After talking it over, Harry and Hermione had decided to keep their newly declared relationship under wraps until after the holidays and just act like friends at the Yule Ball. They would gradually clue their friends in when they got back. There was no reason to make Ginny feel worse right now than she already did.

Hermione and Ginny had decided to wear the same dress robes to the ball that they had worn to Bill's wedding. Hermione looked just as good in hers as Harry remembered from the summer. Harry shook his head in wonder. Had that been only six months ago? Unfortunately, Ginny also looked as good as he remembered, as he noted when he caught a painful glimpse of the light blue halter style gown across the hall.

Now that everyone knew about the two breakups that had happened over the weekend, their friends had all rallied together to keep Hermione, Harry, and Ginny occupied so they could enjoy themselves as well as possible. There had been a quick rearrangement of escorts so that Neville could be with Ginny again, and he never left her side. Luna ended up being without a date, but she said it would be OK as long as the others danced with her. The male members of the DA readily agreed and she ended up with more offers than she knew what to do with.

When they entered the hall, Harry and Hermione found themselves guided over to a table of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, where Ernie promptly asked Hermione to dance. Since Ernie's date was Susan, Harry took to the dance floor with her.

Susan was happy to be dancing with Harry, but couldn't help noticing his attention wander a bit as he kept glancing over at Hermione and Ernie. "You know, Ernie's fancied her for a while now," she informed him. Harry greeted that news silently, but she noted a droop in his shoulders, followed a bit later by a sigh of resignation. _Of course,_ he thought to himself. _Now that Hermione has broken up with Blaise other boys are interested in her again._

"Stop it, Harry." That got his attention, and he looked at Susan questioningly. "I think I know what just went through your head. You were thinking of getting together with her yourself, but now you're wondering if you should back off and let her be with him. Am I right?"

Harry shrugged noncommittally, but she could tell she had hit near the mark. "If you do that you're taking the choice away from her. She has the right to make that decision for herself."

Harry was quiet for a minute as he pondered what she had said. Then he surprised her by breaking onto a grin and giving her a tight hug. "You're a great friend, Susan. You know that?" They passed the rest of the dance enjoyably, and Harry danced with Padma and Luna before taking a break. After Ernie, a succession of Ravenclaw boys danced with Hermione, but Harry relaxed, taking Susan's advice and vowing to let her decide for herself what she wanted to do. If she needed him, he was a quick mental summons away. Belatedly, he realized that he himself would once more be a target for the girls of Hogwarts, but Susan and Padma had apparently staked their claims on him and between them and Hermione his would be suitors were kept at bay. After the initial flurry of dances, during which Hermione gave no encouragement to any of her partners, she joined him at their table with Susan, Ernie, Padma, and Justin, and the group of them stayed together most of the rest of the evening. Susan and Padma shared a curious look as they noticed that Hermione seemed to be in good spirits considering what had happened two nights previously.

Harry managed a short conversation with Ron, confirming, as Ron suspected, that they wouldn't be coming to the Burrow over the holidays. He also let Ron know that there were no hard feelings about the other night. Ginny, after all, was Ron's sister and it was OK to be protective of family. Ron assured Harry that he didn't blame him for anything.

Toward the end of the evening, Harry spotted Daphne and Tracey and caught their attention. He was glad to see that Blaise was evidently not in attendance, and was pretty sure that the late night meeting he had observed on the Marauder's Map was responsible for that happy occurrence. He went over to dance with Tracey and noted that Ron was once more enjoying a dance with Daphne.

"So, how are you and Hermione doing?"

"She's doing much better, thanks," Harry answered cautiously. Her question could be interpreted in more than one way. "What you guys told her really helped." He decided to turn the tables a bit. "I notice that Blaise decided not to come tonight. I suppose your and Daphne's meeting with him last night had something to do with that?"

Tracey cocked an eye at him. This verbal sparring was fun for the Slytherin. The way each one had worded their question suggested that they knew something, but taken at face value the questions were completely innocent.

"We might have suggested something like that. After all, he didn't have a date so there wasn't much reason for him to come, was there?" Harry shrugged, not rising to the bait. Tracey changed the subject.

"So, are you getting away somewhere for the holidays?"

"Yes, we're …" too late Harry realized that he had let slip that he and Hermione were going somewhere together. "We will be visiting with friends." Tracey grinned at him and he nodded, acknowledging that she had won this round.

"You're pretty good at this," he noted admiringly.

"I pay attention. I listen carefully to what people say and how they say it, watch how they act." She decided to push him a bit. "I've been watching you a lot this term. I figured out quite a bit ago that things were serious between you and Ginny. And there's been something unusual going on between you and Hermione." She paused, but Harry's expression gave away nothing. "And something just changed today with you two, didn't it?"

Harry regarded her soberly for another few seconds, then smiled at her. She nodded back, acknowledging that the information was freely given. "You're pretty good at this yourself," she pointed out. "I doubt if you would have come out screaming from underneath that invisibility cloak."

Harry stopped dancing and they stood silently in the middle of the floor. Tracey suddenly noticed that there was no noise in the hall. Somehow he had cast a wordless silencing spell without her even noticing.

"When you've have to stand under an invisibility cloak unable to move or speak while you watched someone kill your headmaster, not much else seems all that big of a deal."

Tracey swallowed hard. That statement was loaded with implications. He was telling her he trusted her with important information. But the Slytherin in her knew that there was a price to be paid. He would want information from her in return. Being one of Potter's confidantes was dangerous.

Harry continued. "Good intelligence can be more valuable than a whole army of fighters." She nodded cautiously. This was it. She had flaunted her intelligence gathering abilities. He had taken the bait. She could back out now and stay on the sidelines, or plunge into the heart of the battle. If they won, she would be one of the heroes of the light side, which would offer unlimited opportunities later. If they lost …

"I believe that it might be profitable for us to continue this conversation next term."

-----

While Harry was dancing with Tracey, Hermione managed to quietly make her way over to Ginny. She gave the small girl a hug and each complimented the other on how nice they looked, and made a bit of small talk. Ginny asked what they were going to be doing over the holidays. Hermione hesitated, then told her that they were going to visit her parents in the States. Ginny nodded, realizing the implications, and tried to hold back her tears. Harry would not be coming to the Burrow, not even on Christmas Day to exchange presents. She would not see him at all. He would be with Hermione the entire holiday. Her greatest fear was upon her.

She reached up and gave the older girl one last hug.

"Take care of him, Hermione," she whispered.

Hermione hugged her back. "Always."

---------------

A/N Finally! Harry and Hermione got together. And only about 230,000 words (counting Soul Searching) into the story! The question now is, will it be permanent? Only time will tell. I promise, though, that they'll stay together for at least the next 4 chapters. (Because that's how many more I have written so far.) ;-)


	14. A Magical Christmas Holiday

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter.

---------------

**Chapter 14, A Magical Christmas Holiday**

December 26

_'Harry, Wake up.'_

Harry cracked his eyes open to see a very excited Hermione sitting on the side of his bed with a big smile on her face. After he sat up and rubbed his eyes, he opened them completely and noticed that she was dressed in a tank top and shorts, with telltale bikini strings emerging from the tank top and tied around her neck. She was also having trouble sitting still.

"Harry, come on. The sun's out and we're going to the beach today," she announced, reaching out her hand to try to pull him out of the bed.

"OK, OK, I'm up," he grumbled good-naturedly. Her smile was so infectious that he couldn't help returning it. She had been happier the last few days than he could remember her being for a long time.

-----

Viktor Krum had come through for them big time. He had arranged all the necessary papers using their Jack and Jane Farmer identities, and had obtained an international portkey to Miami, followed by a local portkey to Port Canaveral, where Dan and Emma Granger met them. They were going to be staying just south of there in the Cocoa Beach area. It was a convenient location in central Florida, with nice sandy beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, the American Space Center just to the north, and the internationally famous amusement parks less than an hour's drive to the west. Viktor had also supplied them with a potion to counter the effects of what muggles called jet lag, with the result that they were able to travel on December 24 and be awake enough to spend a relaxing Christmas Day with the Grangers. After the church service in the morning and a large Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, they had spent the rest of the day catching up with Hermione's parents.

Harry and Hermione had decided to share what they had been doing with her parents, up to a point. They left out Hermione's encounter with Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, for example. They also omitted the love potion story. Dan and Emma were enthralled about the battle with the giants, laughing delightedly about the Star Wars tactic Harry used to fell them. Emma squealed with delight when Hermione showed her the charm bracelet and explained the significance of the charms, and she wanted all of the details about the dresses the girls wore for the Halloween dance. Hermione embarrassed Harry with the story of his making _Witch Weekly's Most Eligible Bachelor _list, and Harry turned the tables by describing how she had held onto him in terror during their dragon ride. Dan was fascinated with the concept of the ring of power. Then they had spent some time discussing the overall situation in the war as it now stood.

"That's fantastic," Dan had commented. "You started from a position where people were panicked and just about ready to give up, gradually reduced the enemy's forces while building up your own, and now it looks like you have the advantage. What's next?"

"First of all," Harry tried to point out, "_I've_ hardly done anything." Dan smiled while shaking his head, but let Harry continue. "Viktor and Major Thompson have been taking care of the battle strategies. I've spent most of my time training. I need to get strong enough to beat him when finally I face him."

"When _we_ face him, Harry," Hermione interrupted, giving him a look that Harry knew he better not argue with.

"But before that," Harry continued, "I still … we still …" he amended before Hermione could say anything again, causing her to give him a firm nod, "we still need to need to find and destroy the last horcrux – his snake. All we can do in the meantime is continue to train and hope Viktor can continue to eliminate his followers and keep him from recruiting more."

Dan had agreed, hoping to himself that whatever they had done or would be able to do would be enough, and not wanting to consider the alternative.

-----

On hearing that the two were coming to stay with them, the Grangers had switched from a one-bedroom suite to a two-bedroom suite. Harry had offered to sleep on the sofa bed in the living area of the suite, but twin glares from Hermione and Emma convinced him otherwise. Dan and Emma had already decided that since the students had been living together for half a year already, they could certainly trust them for a few weeks in a bedroom with two double beds. To make it more comfortable for everyone, Harry and Hermione had conjured a privacy wall between the two beds in their room. Of course that meant that Hermione was free to come over and jump on his bed when she decided it was time for him to get up.

But now the sun was out and Hermione was itching to go to the beach. She had a hard time sitting still during breakfast, which was the source of much amusement for her parents. Apparently this was a long-standing joke in their family, and happened every time they went to the beach on holiday. Finally breakfast was over and Hermione was practically pulling him out the door.

With the eye of an experienced beachgoer, Hermione quickly selected the 'perfect spot', dumped their beach stuff, and quickly removed her tank top and shorts. Harry caught his breath. It had been a while since he had seen her in one of her smaller string bikinis, and he had forgotten just how good she looked in one. Added to that, he was now looking at her with more than friendly interest. Fortunately, she was eager to get into the water and they ran out and jumped into a wave before any embarrassing reaction could develop.

Harry soon decided that having a happy, wiggling, wet Hermione in his arms while dodging waves on a sunny beach was probably the best time he had ever had in his life.

Once her initial burst of energy had subsided, Hermione was ready to go for a walk. As they walked along the sandy beach, Harry noticed that she had been absolutely correct last summer when she had told him that at beach resort areas many girls wore skimpy bikinis like hers. But for the most part he kept his eyes on her, constantly trying to reassure himself that all of this was actually happening. This was so different than the world they had just left a few days ago that it was difficult to reconcile the two realities.

Back at their beach blanket Hermione stretched out to get some sun. Reaching back to untie her strings, she asked him to put sunscreen on her back. Harry, being no fool, decided that this was a great idea and took his time, making sure to rub the lotion thoroughly into every exposed bit of skin. He assumed that the contented moans from the happy girl beneath him meant that he was doing a good job. When he reached the bottom of her back he hesitated. She was wearing a Brazilian cut bottom, which meant that he would need to rub lotion on part of her arse. Of course, Hermione chose this exact moment to remind him to be sure that the lotion covered her all the way to the edge of the suit. Harry was quite red-faced by the time he finished, and it wasn't from sunburn. At least she wasn't wearing a thong bottom.

"Tie me up." Harry was dragged back from some less than pure thoughts, and his initial interpretation of her request was similarly less than pure. "Tie me up," she repeated. "I need to do you, too." After regaining control of his runaway thoughts, Harry quickly retied her bikini strings and lay down to have his own lotion applied. He quickly realized why Hermione liked back rubs so much, and responded with some contented moans of his own. When she asked, he sheepishly admitted that he hadn't put any sunscreen on anywhere, so she did his legs and arms, and insisted that he turn over so she could do his chest also. Somehow, this seemed to take even longer than his back, and Hermione and he were both breathing a little faster by the time she was finished. Finally she lay down next to him.

As soon as he saw her smirk he knew he was in for trouble. "So, Harry," she said with an evil grin, "do you think I should wear my suit with the thong bottom one of these days?"

Harry's brain locked up while pondering in exquisite detail the process of applying sunscreen to a thong clad Hermione.

"Honestly, Harry, don't look at me like that," Hermione scolded, pretending not to realize why he was staring at her with a vacant expression. "There are at least three other girls on this beach wearing thongs."

"There are?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course. Didn't you see them? We walked right by two of them."

"Oh. I reckon I was pretty much just looking at you most of the time."

Harry hadn't thought Hermione's smile could get any bigger than it had been already, but it did.

After a couple of hours lying on their beach blanket interspersed with short dashes into the waves Hermione thought that they had been in the sun enough for the first day and suggested that they go shopping. Harry would have just as soon remained there gazing at his scantily clad girlfriend all day, but he realized that she was more experienced than he at judging sun exposure, and he was beginning to feel a little warm, so he agreed. To his delight, Hermione only put her shorts back on, leaving just her bikini for her top, and they set off for the nearby shopping strip. They grabbed a bite to eat at a fast food place while Hermione told him about the shop that she wanted to visit. She had, of course, read the entire section of the guidebook on area attractions, and there was a particularly famous store that was considered to be a must see. Ron Jon's Surf Shop.

The store was incredible. There was a huge selection of surf boards and related equipment, diving gear, all manner of beach supplies, and racks of bikinis and other swimwear. Not to mention the world famous Ron Jon's tee shirts. They even had instore entertainment.

Harry and Hermione looked through the tee shirts, then moved on to the tank tops, where Harry selected one to buy. Then Hermione spotted some crop top tank tops, which Harry decided he liked her in even more. He was amazed at what they did for her figure, emphasizing her curves nicely. Seeing his reaction, Hermione immediately determined that this was a must buy. While picking one out she also noticed some crop top tee shirts with _Property of the University of Miami Athletic Department_ on them and took one of these into the dressing room. When she emerged she was wearing it and with a big grin waited for Harry to notice the adjustment she had made.

Property of  
Harry Potter

Her face fell as she noticed his frown. "That doesn't seem much like you, Hermione." When he noticed her disappointment he hastened to explain. "I was thinking of S. P. E. W. You've always been the sort who hated the idea of others being considered property.

Chagrined, but relieved to know what he had found objectionable, she pulled off the offending top and gave him a hug. Of course, feeling all that bare skin cheered him right up. "You're right of course," she conceded. "But I was thinking it would be amusing to get one of these for each of Harry's Honeys. Susan in particular," she teased. "Although on her you might never get past the 'Property of' part. She giggled as he groaned at that image, but then he sobered quickly and she realized where his thoughts had gone.

"I doubt if Ginny would be too happy with one right now." Hermione nodded, and moved to put an arm around him. She knew that these moments would happen occasionally while they were on this holiday, and had resolved to just be silently supportive when they occurred. While waiting, she surreptitiously transfigured the shirt back to normal.

Just then their attention was diverted, as each experienced an odd feeling. Instantly alert, they scanned the shop until they noticed an employee approaching. He didn't seem dangerous, but they were ready to dive away and pull out their wands in at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Hello," he said calmly, noting their edginess. "I noticed how you altered that top. I wonder if you two might be interested in seeing some of our more magical products?"

Harry and Hermione shared a surprised look. "You mean, this is a …"

"We are a mixed business. We have both a nonmagical and a magical section. If you're interested, merely walk through the wall between those two mirrors over there."

They thanked him, and after Hermione made her final selection from the crop tank tops (she decided to get two) they moved casually toward the indicated wall and, passing through just like they did at Platform 9 ¾, suddenly found themselves in the hidden part of the store. Here they also found a variety of beach products, all with a magical twist.

Harry was looking at the gillyweed when Hermione came over to show him some enchanted sunscreen. It constantly adjusted its strength to make sure that you never burned, no matter how long you stayed out in the sun. Then she spotted the magical swimwear. At first, they looked like ordinary one-piece swimsuits, but she discovered that they could automatically transfigure themselves into any style the user chose. Of course, she had to try one on.

"Harry, isn't this incredible magic?" she asked excitedly when she emerged from the dressing room. "It works like the Room of Requirement. All you have to do is concentrate on what you want it to look like." Harry watched as she closed her eyes and thought, and was startled as the fabric shrank. In seconds she was wearing a two piece suit like the ones she swam laps in. She concentrated again and she was wearing a triangle bikini top, then the bottom diminished until it was also merely a pair of triangles tied together at the sides.

"Amazing," she gasped in surprise. "It's not just going invisible either. I can't feel it at all on the parts of me that aren't covered." Then she got another sly look on her face and Harry started to worry. A second later the bottom had morphed into a thong.

"Hermione!" Harry hissed, although he decided he wasn't going to complain too much as he watched her twist her body this way and that while she looked over her shoulder at the mirror. She really did look rather good in it. Finally finished inspecting her bum, she looked back at him with that wicked grin again. And her top disappeared.

"Hermione!" After a fraction of a second during which he confirmed that she looked every bit as good as he remembered from the summer, he whirled his head around to see if anyone else was looking, while simultaneously glancing around frantically for a towel, a shirt, anything to cover her with. At the same time her delightful laughter reached his ears.

"It's OK, Harry, you can look now," she finally managed to get out amidst her giggles. Hesitantly, he peeked back over at her and was relieved to see that she was wearing a top again. And incredibly small top, which seemed to be losing the battle to contain her, but a top nevertheless. Just as he was getting his breathing under control a sales clerk came over with a twinkle in her eye.

"I just thought you'd like to know that about fifty percent of all the witches that try on that suit can't resist doing what you just did," she announced to Hermione. "And furthermore," she continued, turning to Harry, "ninety percent of their boyfriends respond exactly the way you did." Then she looked back at Hermione again. "In case you're interested, there's a nude beach up at Canaveral National Seashore. It's the last parking lot all the way at the end." Hermione thanked her graciously for the information, seeing that Harry was too stunned to respond. Then she turned the conversation back to swimwear.

"This is the most incredible suit I have ever seen. I really want to buy it," Hermione told Harry. "Check the tag and see how much it is."

"One hundred Galleons!" Harry sputtered. "Are they serious?" (A/N – approximately 500 pounds or $1000)

"No, no," reassured the sales clerk. That's the list price. The actual price is only fifty Galleons." At Harry's skeptical look she hurriedly added. "And if you buy a second suit it's half off."

"Do they work on muggles?" inquired Hermione. "My mum would love to have a suit like this."

"Muggles?" asked the sales clerk. "Oh, you mean nonmagicals. No, I'm sorry, it only works for wizards or witches."

"Wait a minute, did you say wizards?" Hermione's eyes lit up and Harry suddenly got a very bad feeling about this.

"Certainly, we have men's swimwear of the same material."

Despite his strenuous protestations, Harry soon found himself in a magical men's swimsuit. It began as an extremely uncomfortable baggy suit that came down to his knees. A moment's concentration morphed it into a more satisfactory boxer length. With only a bit of prodding from Hermione, he changed it into a racing style suit, to which he was more accustomed. Then she suggested he make the sides only a half inch wide. That felt pretty good, too. Then she suggested he change it into a thong.

"Hermione!" No way!" 

"Aw, come on, it'll be fun," she laughed as a panicked look appeared on his face.

"Hermioneeee," he whined, getting desperate.

"Pleeease?" She gave him her most pleading look.

_Now that just isn't fair! I can't resist that._

When his shoulders slumped in resignation she knew she had him. She had to force herself to avoid licking her lips in anticipation. He gave her one more disgruntled look, but she wouldn't budge. He concentrated and changed the suit again.

_Well, that feels weird, _Harry thought. _Not as bad as I thought it would, but weird anyway._

"Harry, turn around." Harry shook his head, then dodged to stay in front of her as she tried to get around behind him to take a look.

"Come on, Harry, I want to see."

"No!" He wasn't giving in this time.

"OK."

Harry frowned. It wasn't like Hermione to give up this easily. He looked at her suspiciously.

"She grinned at him. "That's OK. You're standing in front of a mirror, so I can see it anyway."

Shocked, Harry whirled around to confront the traitorous mirror. But … there was no mirror anywhere. Too late, the twin gasps behind him informed him that she had gotten him. Again.

Hermione and the sales clerk were sharing extremely pleased expressions. Between the running, swimming, and weightlifting, Harry had developed very nicely toned legs and a bum that would make girls drool. The clerk turned to Hermione. "I love this job."

Harry finally managed to concentrate enough to change the suit back as he heard Hermione reply to the clerk. "We're definitely buying it."

-----

"Hermione, can we talk a bit?" As Hermione had thought, Emma loved her new suit and wished she could have one like it. Now things had calmed down and they were alone in their room putting their purchases away.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" Hermione worried a bit at Harry's serious demeanor.

"I know that we enjoyed teasing each other this summer at the pool, with the swimsuits and all, and I pulled that prank with your bikini top. We had a lot of fun but we both knew it wasn't serious. But now …" he hesitated, not sure how to express it but hoping she would understand what he was thinking.

"Now our relationship is different and you aren't sure how to take the teasing?" Hermione suggested. Harry nodded. "I understand," she agreed. "Let's talk about it."

So the two of them had a frank and open discussion about the physical aspects of their relationship. They reaffirmed that they didn't want to take it any farther than hugging and kissing. At the same time, they agreed that they both liked the teasing, and that they were now a bit more comfortable with each other's bodies than they had been. As a result, they resolved that each would let the other know if a situation made them uneasy.

Harry went first. "You know when that clerk mentioned the nude beach? I don't think I'm ready for that."

"Fine. I'm not either."

"I think I'm OK with you wearing a thong," he continued. "I certainly have to admit that I like the way it looks on you." Hermione smiled happily at that comment. "But I don't think I would be comfortable putting sunscreen there."

Hermione couldn't help pulling him into a hug. "No problem. I can take care of that myself. Especially now that we have this magical sunscreen, I can put it on once in the morning and not worry about it all day." She pulled back and gave him a saucy grin. "I'd still want you to do my back, though."

Harry smiled back. "Definitely." Then he took a deep breath before he continued. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for you to be topless. I might be able to handle it."

"Don't worry. I'll only do that if you say it's OK," Hermione reassured him. "We can't do it on the beaches around here anyway. But I think you'll find that it would be more comfortable for you if we were on a beach with other topless girls," she pointed out. They agreed that they wouldn't worry about that possibility unless the opportunity arose.

"Anything else?" she prompted.

Harry hesitated. "I don't really want to wear a thong."

Hermione laughed and pulled him into another hug. "Don't worry, I won't make you do that again if you don't want to. You did look really good, though," she teased and he obliged by turning red. They both held the hug a good long while. It was wonderful being able to talk to each other like this. It confirmed for them once more that they were comfortable enough with each other to be able to talk about anything.

-----

After a few days Dan and Emma had started to notice that while the kids seemed to be very happy together, there were times when Harry would get a distant, pained expression on his face. At such times, if she were present, Hermione would simply grasp his hand or put her hand on his arm or shoulder, as though to offer silent comfort. They also noticed that there were times when Harry and Hermione would gaze at each other in silence, and it appeared as though they were communicating somehow. As a result, they decided that they would try to have private conversations with the teens.

Their opportunity came when Emma and Hermione decided to go shopping one afternoon after the kids came back from the beach, and Dan and Harry begged off. Dan then persuaded Harry to go out for a walk.

"So what do you think of Florida?"

"It sure is different than anything I've ever seen back home."

"Actually, it's quite a bit different than the rest of the States, too. Sometimes it seems to be nothing but beaches and golf courses."

"Do you play golf?" Harry thought he remembered his uncle talking about golf once or twice, but he didn't know much about the sport.

"Nope. I have a friend, Scott, who insists that I'd love the game, but I just don't see the point. Emma and I are beach people. Golfing would just be wasting time that we could be spending on the beach."

Harry laughed. He could see now where Hermione's love of beaches came from.

"Emma's not that happy with the beaches here though," Dan continued. "She's used to sunbathing topless on holiday, you know, and that isn't very common in this country. You can really tell that this place was colonized by Puritans. Most Yanks tend to freak out at even the thought that they might see a woman's breasts. You know about the Sun's page three girls back home? If a paper did that here they'd get shut down. And don't get me started about network television. Whenever there's even a chance that a breast might show they electronically blur it out. Except for cable TV. Then anything goes."

"What's the difference?"

"I'm not really sure. Basically I think they're nutters on the subject."

Harry thought about that. He had been pretty shocked when he first found out about Emma and Hermione sunbathing topless, but he had accepted the idea fairly quickly. It didn't bother him that they did it, and he expected that eventually he would be able to handle seeing it. After all, he hadn't even seen a woman in a swimsuit before last summer. Then he remembered what the clerk at Ron Jon's had said.

"The store clerk told us there's a nude beach a little north of here."

"Yes, we read about it. We checked it out last week, but it's way out of the way. It takes a while to get to and it's not very big." Dan looked thoughtfully at Harry. He didn't seem to be too uncomfortable with this topic. "We're thinking of moving on along to Miami next week. A lot of us Europeans visit there, so they're more relaxed about that sort of thing. The women can go topless there, and there's supposed to be a large nude beach on the north side of town."

Harry nodded noncommittally.

"Would you be OK with it? We weren't sure how it went last summer after we left; if you ever got comfortable with Hermione sunbathing topless."

"No, not really. I only saw her without a top once and that was as a result of me pranking her. But we talked a bit about it the other day." Harry then relayed the story of how he had hidden her bikini top while she was swimming and she had called his bluff. Dan laughed and told him that sounded just like something Hermione would do. But then Harry grew quiet as he remembered their time at the pool last summer. Soon his thoughts came to the time they had been swimming when Ginny had visited.

Once again Dan noticed the pain on Harry's face, but this time there was no Hermione present to comfort him. After a bit he asked somewhat tentatively, "Anything you want to talk about, Harry?" Harry shrugged. He enjoyed talking with Dan, but he was Hermione's father after all. Dan seemed to realize this barrier to Harry confiding in him as well. "Harry, you're the most incredible young man I've ever met, but every young man needs someone older to talk to, maybe an older brother, maybe a father figure. I imagine Remus fills that role for you somewhat, but I get the idea he isn't much more socially experienced than you are." They stopped walking and he turned a concerned look toward Harry. "Why don't you try to forget I'm Hermione's father for a bit and just think of me as your Uncle Dan?"

Harry was silent for a while, staring out at the ocean. Without turning to look at Dan he asked quietly, "How do you know when you're in love?"

Dan had been pretty sure that that was what was on Harry's mind, and had given some thought to his answer. "I think it develops gradually. Love at first sight isn't really love at all. Love happens when you realize that someone means the world to you. That you enjoy being with her, and not just for snogging or making out. Just doing simple things with her makes you happy. You find that you care as much or more about what is best for her than for yourself. When you feel this way about someone, always wanting most what would make her happy, then that is love. You notice that I didn't say anything about the exciting, pit of the stomach feeling. That's the kind of thing that comes and goes. Real love lasts and it is a commitment."

Harry said nothing for a while, pondering what he had just heard. Dan smiled to himself as he watched the puzzled expression on the troubled youth's face, guessing what was going through his mind.

_Surely that wasn't all there was to it? He pretty much described the way I've felt about Hermione for some time now!_ And, he realized, she certainly had often done things that showed she was more concerned about him than about herself. The problem was, what Dan had said also fairly accurately described how he had felt about Ginny.

Finally Harry asked another question. "Is it possible to fall in love with more than one person?"

Dan was not expecting this one, so he had to think about his answer more carefully. "When I was about your age, finishing up school, I fell in love with one of my classmates. We had been dating for a couple years, and we had progressed to the point where we were talking about our future together. But when I went off to university, she stayed back home. At first we kept in close touch, and got together whenever we could, but after a while we slowly grew apart. During that time I became friends with Emma and eventually I found that I was in love with Emma and not in love with Victoria any longer. In fact, for some time prior to that Emma had been playing the part of the loyal friend, trying to help me sort out my feelings for Victoria. Then I realized that I had fallen in love with my best friend." He concluded by facing Harry once more and addressing him directly. "Anything's possible. You have to figure out what's right for you."

It did not escape Harry's notice how similar Dan and Emma's story was to his and Hermione's. He suspected that Dan had been playing up that aspect, trying to get Harry to realize his feelings for his daughter. In any case, Dan's answers to his questions had certainly given him something to think about. They resumed their walk and Harry opened up a little more about his feelings for Hermione, trying to explain them to himself as much as to Dan.

-----

After they had gone to bed that night Dan and Emma compared notes.

"How did it go?" asked Emma anxiouxly.

"About like we expected," Dan replied. "He obviously has strong feelings for Hermione, and he's wondering if he's in love."

"But?" Emma had detected some uncertainty in Dan's voice.

"But he also thinks he might be in love with the other girl."

"That's pretty much what Hermione said, too," Emma responded. "Except she wasn't sure how strongly he felt about her. Apparently something happened to make him pull back from Ginny, and he turned his attention to her. She still can't believe it happened. One minute they were consoling each other, and the next minute they were together. She wasn't clear on exactly what he was consoling _her_ about. If I had to guess, something happened with that other boy she was dating. I notice he doesn't seem to be in the picture anymore."

"So now what happens?"

"I'm not sure," Emma replied thoughtfully. "I don't think there's anything we can do about it, though, except let them know they have our unconditional support. It's something the kids have to work out on their own … I can't believe I'm still calling them kids," she chided herself. "They're certainly adults now."

"I know," Dan agreed. "It's incredible how much they've changed in six months. Not only physically, which is impressive in its own right, but emotionally. They seem like they've aged ten years. Someone took the boy and girl we left last June and replaced them with a man and a woman. I don't think we really want to know exactly what they've been through that changed them so much. I've seen it before, though. In the service, the same thing happens to guys after they've been in combat. They may have been boys when they went in, but they're men when they come out."

There was an uneasy pause in the conversation as they both contemplated what might have forced the teens to mature so much. Then Dan voiced an uncomfortable question that had been on his mind since his conversation with Harry.

"Did you really mean what you said about supporting them no matter what they decide?"

"What do you mean?"

"From what he said, I get the impression that he wants Hermione to be a close part of his life no matter what happens. I think it's entirely possible that even if he marries Ginny, Hermione might end up being with him anyway."

"You mean she'll be his mistress?" Emma found that difficult to believe. "I can't imagine that she'd be willing to do that. I don't think he's the sort of man who would do that either," she added.

"No, not a mistress, at least not in the sense you're thinking of. There's no way either of them would do anything behind someone's back. But … well we don't really know what wizarding customs are like. It's hard to say how they might decide to work it out. Are you willing to support them no matter what arrangement they decide on?"

"I … I suppose so."

"Well, there's no sense borrowing trouble." Dan now turned very serious. "As much as I hate to say it, they might not all survive."

"Oh, Dan, please don't," Emma cried. "I don't want to think about what it would do to Hermione if Harry died. And I can't bear the thought of losing her."

"I'm not sure that we would lose just one of them," he intoned grimly.

"You mean?" 

"I'm not sure if either of them would want to go on living if the other one died. And you heard what she said – they plan on fighting him together. If one falls in the fight, I think the other one might follow. That happens all too often in the heat of a battle."

"Oh, my God! Dan, what can we do?" Emma was frantic.

Dan only had one answer. "Pray."

---------------

A/N 1 If you're thinking that the reason for having them go to Florida was so that I could get Hermione in a bikini again, you're absolutely right! But I also wanted Harry to have that discussion with Dan.

A/N 2 I've been trying to craft this story so that it will come down to Harry having to make a choice between Hermione and Ginny. But I get the impression that all of you readers want him to end up with Hermione. Is anyone reading this who wants Harry to end up with Ginny?


	15. Confronting Reality

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter. And thanks to all of the reviewers who responded so forcefully to the question in my author's note last week.

---------------

**Chapter 15, Confronting Reality**

The Christmas holiday was not going nearly as well for the Weasley family as it was for the Granger family. Ginny had pretty much shut herself up in her room every day, despondent over what had happened with Harry. Molly was furious. She had expected to have a wonderful holiday, being able to fuss over how marvelous it was that Harry and Ginny were together, and had even harbored faint hopes of a possible engagement announcement. And then came the bitter news that not only was their relationship on the rocks, but he hadn't even come to the Burrow with her and Ron.

Ron was in the doghouse for trying to defend Harry, insisting that he wasn't to blame for the breakup. Of course Molly could never believe that Ginny could be responsible. She would never break up with Harry; after all she had been pining for him for years. It didn't help that Ron couldn't explain exactly what had happened. For one thing, he didn't know. Harry wasn't talking about it, Hermione had point blank refused to say anything, and he knew there was no way Ginny was going to tell him about it. Of course he had heard a few rumors about what had happened, but there was no way on earth he was going to share them with his mother since most of them did not reflect favorably on Ginny.

After a few days of undirected ranting, Molly had eventually decided that it wasn't Harry's fault either and had latched once more onto Hermione as the culprit. Anything to do with Harry always seemed to come back to her after all. Obviously, Hermione must have stolen him from her Ginny. The only thing that slowed her at all was Ginny's refusal to blame Hermione for anything, but when it slipped out that Harry was spending the holiday with the Grangers the resulting explosion was a sight to behold. She had tried to send Hermione a howler, but the States were far outside poor Errol's range. When he returned with the undelivered howler she exploded again.

Now it was a few days after Christmas and Ron was sitting alone in the kitchen, eating some biscuits, and thinking about his two best friends. First off, he was determined to repair the rift that had grown up between them. The estrangement was his fault, after all, so he would take the initiative to set it right. He would make sure that they knew they had his unconditional support for anything they set out to do. And that included whatever was happening between the two of them.

Ron wasn't blind, after all. Sure, he was as clueless as the next male, but dating first Lavender last year, and now Hannah this year, had taught him to pay attention and notice things about relationships. Due to his concern about Harry and Ginny with regard to Harry's pretend dating of Hermione he had been paying extra close attention to his long term friends. And he was seeing something between the pair that definitely went past friendship. He suspected that Hermione had probably figured it out first, since Harry was no more knowledgeable about romance than he was. It might have started when they were living together during the summer – Fred and George seemed to think it had – or it might have only taken hold at the start of term when they were pretending to date.

He was also sure that Hermione wouldn't do anything about it as long as Harry was with Ginny, and would keep her feelings to herself rather than betray her friend. And Harry, if he did notice any extra feelings toward Hermione, would have ignored them for the same reason. But the way Harry treated Hermione, the way he talked about her, the way he looked at her, Ron was pretty sure he had been starting to realize it lately as well. It had been most noticeable since the Halloween dance – probably since the revelation about the love potion. That was when Harry had started looking at Hermione differently. The confirmation, for Ron, was the Yule Ball. Harry and Hermione had been much too happy for two people who had just had disastrous dates the preceding two nights. Once they were both, at least temporarily, without other commitments their feelings for each other would have been free to emerge. And apparently they had.

Of course, there was no way he was going to share this conclusion with either Ginny (she would find out the painful truth, if such it was, soon enough) or his mum (he did want to keep eating, after all).

At that point there was a knock on the door. Luna Lovegood had come to visit Ginny. After thanking her for coming, and quickly filling her in on the situation in the Weasley house (but not his suspicions about Harry and Hermione – Luna was observant enough to make her own conclusions about that) Ron sent her up to try her luck with Ginny.

Then, since he was in the uncommon mood – for him – of thinking seriously about relationships, and since he still had plenty of biscuits, he turned his thoughts to his own love life.

The blonde Ravenclaw that had just passed through the Burrow's kitchen was an enigma. For most of his life she had been the annoying friend of his kid sister, and he had done his best to ignore her. But somehow she had insinuated her way into first the original DA, and then into the group of six that had gone to the Department of Mysteries. He still wasn't sure how that had happened. And then, Harry had decided that she was a friend and that was that. Amazingly, the more time he spent with her the less annoying and the more amusing he found her. Her bizarre outlook on life made him laugh. So he now considered her to be his friend, too, but she would never be more than that. She was just too strange.

Ron wasn't sure if Hannah Abbott was the one either. From a physical standpoint, she was just what he wanted. There was no doubt he was turned on by her. And she was certainly nice enough. But, there was something missing. There wasn't enough excitement in their relationship. Over his more than six years at Hogwarts Ron's life had been one exciting moment after another, and he had become accustomed to sharing that excitement with his friends. It wasn't that Hannah was boring, but she wasn't the sort of girl who would plunge unhesitatingly into one of their adventures. Not like Ginny would. Or Hermione, for that matter. What he guessed he wanted was a girl with the looks of Hannah or Lavender but who was as spirited as Ginny or Hermione. Bill had found someone like that in Fleur. Ron decided he would just have to keep looking.

-----

"Go away."

Luna ignored her friend and pulled out her wand and unlocked Ginny's door. Ginny looked up from her bed and sighed. "Luna, go away. I don't want to see anyone right now."

"OK," Luna replied absently, not really looking at Ginny. "Close your eyes and we'll just visit."

Ginny groaned and rolled over. Maybe she could just ignore her. But she knew her friend well enough to know that probably wouldn't work.

"You have a very nice room, Ginny," Luna commented while wandering around looking at the pictures on Ginny's walls.

"Luna, you've been in my room hundreds of times," Ginny retorted, rolling her eyes.

"You're right. Let's go outside," Luna decided, turning to Ginny and reaching out to pull her up. "It's a beautiful day out. And we can get away from the Nargles."

Ginny sighed and gave in. Deep down she knew she was being ridiculous, and it couldn't hurt to go outside for a while. Perhaps some of the odd topics Luna was certain to bring up would help distract her from her problems.

The two walked out toward the back of the Weasley property and the woods beyond. Luna cast a warming charm (she had turned seventeen the previous month) and they sat down in the spot that had always been their special place where they would sit and share secrets. Luna had begun reminiscing about how magical these woods had seemed when they were little when Ginny broke down.

"Luna, what am I going to do? I've wanted him all of my life!"

Instead of answering her directly, Luna turned to her with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Remember when we were five? I had my stuffed toy doggy and you had your Harry Potter doll. I loved my doggy and you loved your Harry Potter. We used to make up the best pretend stories about them. My doggy could become any magical creature I could imagine and we'd go on long adventures searching for it. And you came up with the most wonderful stories about Harry Potter. You were always the princess who had been captured, or lost, or in danger, and Harry Potter would always come and rescue you. And we would tell our stories to our mums. My mum would listen to me about all of my imaginary creatures and always tell me that they might be real and I might find them someday. And your mum would listen to your stories and always tell you that you might meet and fall in love with the real Harry Potter some day."

Luna's voice dropped from the light tone she had been using and became lower and quieter. "But in the end, my magical doggy was just a stuffed toy and your Harry Potter was just a doll."

After a brief silence, she seemed to perk up again. "The summer when we were eight I fell in love with Cedric. He was back from his first year at Hogwarts and he was so handsome. We used to hang around the village so I could get a glimpse of him. You stayed loyal to Harry and insisted you were still in love with him, no matter how handsome Cedric was. You teased me about Cedric and I teased you about Harry. But at the end of the summer he went back to Hogwarts and I forgot about him."

Luna's eyes glazed over and her voice faded almost to a whisper. "And then when I was nine my mum died. I came over to stay at your house for a while. Her birthday had been just the week before and I had given her a necklace I made of butterbeer corks. After her funeral my daddy gave me back the necklace so I could have something to remember her by. I spent the whole week at your house not talking to anyone, just thinking about Mum."

Luna shook her head and resumed her dreamy voice. "But that's when I first noticed Ronald. When I finally went home I used to sit and daydream about him. He was going to take care of me and make everything better. I thought I was in love with him, too. But he always ignored me after that. When I would follow him around he would yell at me and tell me to go away and stop bothering him. I never gave up, though. I knew he would fall in love with me someday."

Luna now looked directly at Ginny for the first time and her prominent blue eyes fixed Ginny with a penetrating stare. "But now we're grown up and I know that will never happen. At least he's my friend now, though. Even if someone isn't in love with you it's very important to have friends." Ginny could only nod. "Do you know that Harry was my first friend at Hogwarts besides you?" Ginny nodded again.

Luna looked away and her normal dreamy expression returned. "So, Ginny, when did you really fall in love with Harry Potter?"

-----

When Luna had gone Ginny returned to her room to think about what she had said. She forced herself to take a good hard look at herself, and she didn't like what she saw. She had been behaving like a spoiled child who didn't get her way. It was no one's fault but her own that Harry had backed off. She knew very well that she had gone farther with Michael and Dean than she should have, and that some people would not approve. If she had had enough sense to stop and think about it she might have guessed that Harry wouldn't. Hermione certainly hadn't, and had let her know that in no uncertain terms. And who would know Harry's thoughts better than Hermione? She shuddered as she remembered the look in his eye when he and Ron had caught her and Dean in that deserted corridor. She wondered what Ron had been about to call her before she cut him off. Probably his old standby, 'scarlet woman'. That was a bit much, but 'loose' or 'easy' would have been accurate. Fortunately, she and Dean had only been snogging at the time, although they had been on their way to a broom cupboard where it certainly would have gone further. It was fortunate indeed that Ron (or Harry!) hadn't broken in on that.

She sat and stared out of her bedroom window as her thoughts went back to those two relationships that had so affected her life. She had only been thirteen when Michael had asked her out. She had been shocked, because at that time she hadn't considered herself that attractive - her figure was only slightly distinguishable from that of a boy's. Only Neville had even thought about asking her to the Yule Ball, and that was only after Hermione had turned him down. It had certainly never occurred to Harry to ask her. He hadn't even considered her after Cho had said no – his thoughts had turned next to Parvati. So Michael's interest had been a surprise. Since he had been a year and a half older than her, he had initially dominated the relationship. But it didn't take long before she noticed that other boys were giving him envious looks and her self-confidence rose.

She still remembered the snogging session during her fourth year where his hands had ended up under her robes in a place where they shouldn't be. She had found that she liked kissing a lot, and was evidently pretty good at it. She realized at once what he was doing but she was enjoying the kissing so much she didn't push him away immediately. To her disappointment, she didn't really get anything out of it. Frankly, between the heavy jumper she had on and the padded bra her mum had insisted she wear (_lined, not padded_, she could still hear Mum correcting her) she could hardly feel it. On the other hand, Michael had certainly seemed satisfied. But if he was going to enjoy it she wanted to get something out of it too. The other girls in her dorm who had let their boyfriends cross that line certainly made it sound like she should be feeling something. So she came up with the ingenious idea to wear a light blouse and leave the bra in her clothing drawer on the next date. She was easily small and firm enough that she didn't need it.

Now that had been more like it! She didn't know if she had been more turned on by the delightful tingle that pulsed through her insides or the shocked and aroused expression on Michael's face. The guilt about what she was doing had gone away eventually. As their dating continued she let Michael know that the groping wasn't going to go any further, and he was satisfied with that. She also noted that she was getting some appreciative looks from other guys, and realized that Michael wasn't the sort to keep that kind of conquest to himself.

When she eventually tired of Michael and broke up with him she discovered that guys were falling all over themselves to ask her out. Of course, there were more than just the one reason for that. She had blossomed both physically and mentally that year. Her figure had developed enough that she no longer needed the padded bra. The scared, shy little girl that came out of the Chamber of Secrets was now a beautiful, clever, outgoing, confident, mature young woman.

The relationship with Dean had been more one of equals. He had been carefully selected, of course, to get Harry's attention. Not to make him jealous, although due to Ron's use of the love potion that's exactly what had happened, but to demonstrate to him that she had grown up from the blushing little kid sister and was now eminently datable. And kissable.

Dean, of course, was trying to uphold a reputation and was interested in going further than she had with Michael. He had liked to tell her that she was a perfect fit for his hands. She wondered how he felt about that now that he was with Lavender. He certainly couldn't fit one of _hers_ in one hand. But while Ginny had let Dean touch her more directly than Michael had, and had delighted in the pleasant sensations it gave her, she had kept his hands above her waist. That part of her was reserved for Harry. She so much wanted Harry to touch her the way Dean had, and eventually go farther. But now …

She sighed. Now it was time to grow up and face the truth. She didn't have any more right to Harry than anyone else did. This wasn't a fairy tale. Just because she had fantasized about him before she even met him didn't mean she necessarily 'deserved' to be with him. Just because he had saved her life didn't mean that he automatically 'belonged' to her somehow. If anyone 'deserved' Harry, she had to admit, it would be Hermione, given all that she had gone through for him.

When had she really fallen in love with Harry? Only this year, to be honest, when she actually got to know him and spend time with him. At the same time he had been falling in love with her, she had finally been seeing the real Harry Potter. She saw him when he was happy and when he was hurting. She saw up close how much he cared about people, his loyalty, his humor, his kindness, his determination to do what was right. She saw him for what he really was and fell in love with _him_, not just a romantic image of him.

And that's what made it hurt all the more. She loved him now, and had discovered the awful truth that nothing is so painful as when you hurt or are hurt by the one you love. She realized that he had been devastated by her actions. But she wasn't going to let him down in any other way. If she couldn't be his lover, she would be one of his best friends. She would take what he was willing to give her and in return give him everything she had. She wasn't going to give up on him, not by a long shot. But now she would focus on doing what was best for _him_. And when he finally made a decision, she would support it.

-----

Ron looked up in surprise as Ginny came down the stairs with a determined look on her face, her mournful expression discarded.

"Hey big brother. Want to go flying?"

-----

The young couple stood on the balcony of their room in a Miami Beach hotel, looking at the moon over Miami. (Hermione had explained that it was such a cliché, they simply had to do it at least once.) It was their last night before returning to Britain.

Everyone had enjoyed the move to Miami. Somehow Viktor had got their ages wrong on their passports, so they were officially old enough to partake of the nightlife for which the South Beach area was famous. And the topless beaches had been much more to Emma's and Hermione's liking. From Miami they were also able to take a day trip into the Florida Keys to snorkel at a coral reef. The experience was so different from the other time Harry had spent underwater during the Tri Wizard tournament that it didn't seem possible. (Of course, Hermione had no memories of being underwater during the second task since she was unconscious the whole time.) The colors of the fish and the fascinating coral formations left all of them spellbound. When they finished both Harry and Hermione vowed to return someday with gillyweed.

As they stood together on the balcony, Hermoine leaned back into Harry's arms and sighed. The holiday had been so perfect that she was reluctant to return. Not surprisingly, since they so frequently thought alike, Harry voiced exactly what she had been thinking.

"I wish we could stay here forever and never go back." Hermione shuddered at this, which had the delightful result of having him pull her more tightly into him. _Did he really mean what that implied? That he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her?_ She turned and looked at him, with the unspoken question in her eyes clear to see.

"I think I could be perfectly happy being with you like this for the rest of our lives," he answered solemnly. "But …"

"But we both know that's not what life has in store for you – for us," she completed the acknowledgement for him.

He nodded. "We have other things we have to face. We need to finish training, finish getting the students ready, get rid of Nagini. And then we need to fight and destroy Voldemort. Only then can we think about living our lives."

"And Ginny?" She didn't want to, but she knew this subject needed to be dealt with sooner or later.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. But I'm just as confused as ever. I thought I could get over her but I can't." His shoulders slumped as he berated himself that he had let her down. He was with Hermione now. He should have been able to give up on Ginny and move on.

"Don't Harry. Don't blame yourself for this. You were falling in love with her for six months. You can't just expect to forget all of that in a few weeks." She put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. "That's something you don't have to decide right now. Let's just leave it be for a while. After Voldemort's gone we'll have plenty of time to sort all of this out."

"OK, if you think so." He hugged her to himself, thinking about the task ahead, now looming closer than ever. "I can make it through this Hermione - as long as I have you with me."

"You know I'll never leave you."

"I love you, Hermione."

"I love you, Harry."

-----

Upon their return to London they first stopped at Grimauld Place so that Remus, Viktor, and Moody could bring them up to date on what had occurred during their absence. The initial news was good. Voldemort had had some success recruiting on the Continent, but not as much as they had feared. And when he had tried recruiting the dragons he had been in for a rude, and very painful shock. The leader of the Dragon Kin had answered him with a wall of flame. He was last seen activating an emergency portkey while resembling a human torch. They estimated that it would be weeks before he recovered from his burns.

Harry could tell from their faces that the next bit of information was not so good.

"Peter Pettigrew has escaped. He was being transported and the Auror either got careless or was secretly a Voldemort sympathizer. In any case, he's at large again."

Harry was unhappy, but truth be told had been surprised this hadn't happened already. "I imagine you've already thought of this, but are the secret tunnels to Hogwarts all secure?"

"There's no problem there," Remus responded. "We warded all of the tunnels after he escaped the last time. This year we added an extra layer that prohibits the passage of anyone with a dark mark. Like the one the Death Eaters used in the attack last spring only in reverse." Harry nodded, recalling that no one but Death Eaters had been able to get past the barrier up to the Astronomy Tower in that battle. "A bigger problem is that he could still enter in his rat form through the Forbidden Forest. But we have the acromantulas watching out for him, and the centaurs have let us know that while they are staying neutral, they will not permit any from the other side to pass through the forest either. I think he's too much of a coward to risk being caught by a giant spider while he's a rat."

"So," Viktor said, summing up, "the main potential threats right now are trolls and inferi. We're pretty sure he has assembled a good-sized troll army. We don't know where he intends to use it. We still have no idea if inferi even exist, much less how to fight them."

Harry looked up in surprise. "They exist all right. Dumbledore and I had to fight our way through them when we got the locket last spring." He shuddered at the memory. Remus and Viktor merely stared at him. Hermione seemed torn between wanting to comfort him from the horrible memory and being embarrassed that they had forgotten to tell the others those details. Fortunately, with the aid of a penseive this oversight was quickly remedied. They immediately made plans to learn the flaming lasso spell Dumbledore had used on the inferi and teach it to Viktor's strike team, the Order, and the DA.

Next the discussion turned to the ultimate showdown with Voldemort. "It's too bad we can't take advantage of his injuries and attack now," offered Viktor, referring to their foe's dragon induced burns. "But …"

"But there's no point until we destroy the last horcrux," Harry agreed. "I really don't want to have to go through all this again if we just drive him from this body, only to have him resurrect himself once more."

"What kind of progress are you making on finding his hiding spots," inquired Hermione. Moody reported that they had an approximate idea of where Voldemort was about half the time, but much less so with Nagini. Voldemort was evidently keeping him under wraps. They all agreed that the top priorities of the Order and its allies were finding a way to get Nagini isolated from Voldemort and then figuring out how to get Voldemort away from his Death Eaters and other allies. In both cases it would be just too risky trying to deal with multiple threats. Harry needed to be able to put his full concentration into killing Nagini, without any distractions from other fighting, then the same again with Voldemort.

The last bit of information was positive – they had no indication that Voldemort was aware that they were hunting horcruxes, much less that they had destroyed five of them.

As the meeting broke up, Remus gave the pair a stack of mail and they settled down in the drawing room to look at it. Harry found a message from Ron and his face fell as he read it.

"It looks like we won't be welcome at the Burrow any time soon." Fearful of what exactly that implied, Hermione hurried over to read the note over his shoulder. She slumped back in disappointment.

"No, Harry, it says _I'm_ not welcome at the Burrow."

Harry turned and took her arm, pulling her into his lap. "Hermione, we're in this together. Molly is just going to have to accept that. She either takes both of us or neither of us."

"But …" Hermione began to protest. She didn't want to come between Harry and the only family he had known for so many years. Harry put a finger to her lips and gently shook his head.

Returning to the message he continued. "But on the good side, Ron stuck up for us. Let's ask him to come over to visit. It looks like he could use some friendly faces right now."

Hermione regarded him thoughtfully. It still amazed her how ready he was to forgive those who had wronged him if he considered them friends. She was far from being ready to let Ron off the hook for his actions of the previous term. But she had to admit that they needed Ron, and when things got serious he was as loyal to Harry as anyone could be. She nodded, then gave him a little hug before climbing off his lap. It was one of Harry's many noble traits, and she loved him for it.

-----

Ron was thrilled to hear Harry's voice on his mirror. He had thought that his two friends would be returning one of these days, but was uncertain what their feelings toward him were just then. In no time at all he was in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, eating some of Dobby's delicious food and enjoying their company. It almost seemed like old times again, and he nearly choked up at their warm welcome. After they settled down and he had eaten a bit, he filled them in on the details.

Fred and George, as usual, had taken Harry's side and were keeping away from the Burrow as much as possible. Bill and Fleur were also on their side, but were trying not to antagonize Molly, as Fleur and Ginny had never got along all that well in the first place. Fortunately, Fleur was getting a free pass at the moment because they had announced at Christmas that she was pregnant, and Molly was thrilled at the prospect of a grandchild. Percy had come home for Christmas dinner, but stayed noncommittal about everything. Charlie had always tended to be protective of Ginny, and so was inclined to follow Molly's lead and ostracize Hermione, but he did have a grudging respect for her after the dragon riding incident, so he was torn. The best news was that Ginny herself, after a few bad days, was doing all right and had not once badmouthed either Harry or Hermione, much to the irritation of her mother. Harry was especially glad to hear that Luna's visit had apparently been of some help in pulling Ginny out of her funk.

When Ron had finished catching them up on everything it was late and he agreed to stay the night. Harry and Hermione were both relieved and impressed that Ron took their new relationship in stride. They made sure to reassure him that they didn't want him to feel left out, and he was still as big a part of their lives as before. The three best friends spent the evening and the next day gradually restoring their relationship as they discussed their plans for the possible upcoming battles.

-----

Strangely enough, when they returned to Hogwarts the students in general weren't particularly interested in Harry and Hermione's relationship. For one thing, it was old news. Since Harry had changed girlfriends five times since the beginning of November, it just wasn't that big of a deal to the Hogwarts gossip network any more. And besides, he had dated Hermione already this year. For another thing, the head students as a couple were rather boring. Aside from a quick kiss when they parted for different classes, all they did was hold hands.

The last reason was that the hot new couple at Hogwarts this term was Ron Weasley and Daphne Greengrass. The idea that the most anti-Slytherin Gryffindor in the school was going out with the most desirable yet aloof Slytherin of her year was the final blow that crumbled the wall that had divided the houses for the past two decades. The couple was quite amusing to watch. The elegant Slytherin knew exactly what she wanted from the relationship and the lanky Gryffindor mostly hung on and enjoyed the ride. While Daphne would never put on the public display that Lavender had with Ron the year before, she certainly managed to keep his interest. A smoldering glance here or an intimate touch there left no doubt as to her intentions. As Hermione watched the romance unfold she realized how much she and Ron had both matured since the prior year. He was able to keep his activities much more discreet, and she was able to accept his attraction to voluptuous women without taking it as a personal affront.

With regard to the head students, however, the students who had thought themselves 'in the know' regarding Harry's relationships were puzzled. Ginny's turn with Harry had been supposed to last longer than it had, presumably through the Valentine's dance. And Hermione wasn't supposed to be next in any case. Gradually, beginning with Tracey, and Luna, who had also carefully observed the couple during the Yule Ball, their close friends began to realize that Harry and Hermione weren't pretending this time.

-----

The rapprochement between Hermione and Blaise went off without incident. Slughorn had already been instructed to change the Potions partnerships, and Hermione was now paired with Ernie Macmillan. After a brief conversation where he apologized for his overly presumptive behavior, the rest of the Potions class saw to it that the two were kept at a comfortable distance from each other. Hermione was always accompanied to and from the dungeons by several classmates.

Reconciling Harry and Ginny would not be so easy.

-----

"Hermione? Can I come in?"

Hermione had been dreading this moment. Ginny had come to visit the Heads suite while Harry was in Defense class. Ginny, of course, knew Harry's schedule as well as her own and knew that she would be able to talk to Hermione alone.

"You're in love with Harry too, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry Ginny! I didn't mean to. I couldn't help myself," Hermione admitted, the anguish clear in her voice. "It's just that we grew so close this summer, and we were doing everything together and it ended up being just the two of us most of the time and it … it just happened," she said helplessly.

"Hermione," Ginny said, taking a deep breath to control her emotions. "I understand, actually. I guess I can't really blame you for falling for such a lovable guy." She gave a weak laugh. "I know you wouldn't do it on purpose. When did you know?"

"I finally admitted it to myself by the end of the summer. But I swore I would keep it to myself. I really didn't try to break the two of you up, believe me."

"I believe you. I figured it out on your birthday, and from then on I could see how much you were struggling to keep it in. It's not your fault I messed up." She sighed, then went on. "You know, I think you actually fell in love with him before I did." Hermione's eyebrows disappeared into her forehead in shock. "It wasn't until after the whole love potion thing and I saw how nobly he reacted to it that I realized how shallow my feelings had been before. Only since then have I really understood what love is." She wiped away a tear that had insisted on emerging despite her best efforts. "I finally understood what you were trying to tell me last summer about love. And then …"

Hermione pulled the heartbroken girl into a hug. "Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry." Ginny sighed again, gathering herself for the next question.

"So, is he in love with you now?" Hermione bit her lip. This would be the perfect opportunity to end Harry and Ginny's relationship once and for all. But she couldn't do that to either of her friends.

"Ginny, it's not quite what you think. He's realized that he has those kinds of feelings for me, but he hasn't gotten over you either. That's why he's been so awkward being around you. He doesn't know how to deal with what he's feeling about you right now."

Ginny's hope was suddenly restored! She forced herself to stay calm. "So now what are we going to do?"

"Well, he and I have agreed to not push what we have any farther for the time being. I mean, we haven't even gone as far as the two of you did, and we aren't planning to either. We think we should wait until after … you know." Hermione couldn't bring herself to say that there wouldn't be any decision to make if one or more of them didn't survive the upcoming battle. "We'll just work it out later."

"But in the meantime the two of you are still together?" Ginny asked, proud that she had resisted asking that question with a catty tone in her voice.

"Well, we do live here in the same suite, so …" Hermione shrugged uncomfortably, but then her resolve returned. She had the upper hand right now and intended to keep it. "Right now, he's more comfortable with me than with you," she pointed out.

Ginny winced. It was one more reminder of how she had messed up. "OK. I guess I can accept that. It's a lot better than I thought it was going to be when I came in here." She paused, then decided to go ahead with what she had planned to say when she first arrived.

"Hermione, whatever happens, I want us to stay friends. It would be tough enough losing Harry; I couldn't bear to lose your friendship too." Tears came to Hermione's eyes as she heard this. Ginny had been her best female friend since her second year, and she had felt the same fear that Ginny had just expressed. Of course, this caused Ginny to start crying again too, and the two girls hugged each other as the tears flowed, helping to relieve the stress that had built up during the difficult conversation. Finally, Ginny pulled back, wiping her eyes.

"And can you help me do whatever I can to keep Harry as a friend too?" she pleaded. Hermione embraced her again and vowed to do her best to help dispel the awkwardness between the pair.

Hermione filled Harry in on the conversation when he returned, and he hugged her in relief, thanking her for handling the situation so well. The next time Harry and Ginny encountered each other, she gave him a hesitant smile, which he returned. From then on they managed to act normally around each other, although to her disappointment, he seldom gave her hugs anymore.

-----

"I have some information for you."

"Yes?"

"The word is going around among a few of the students in Slytherin house – Stay in the castle during the next Hogsmeade visit."

"So you think …?"

"I do."

"Thanks, Tracey."

-----

But no one noticed as a silver pawed rat crept into the woods near Ottery St. Catchpole.

---------------

A/N Regarding Luna: Since there are only three wizarding families living in the area of Ottery St. Catchpole, and one of them has six boys and a girl, and another apparently has only a girl, I find it inconceivable that Ginny and Luna would not have been playmates growing up. What we know from canon is that Ginny first introduced Luna to Harry on the train in Book 5 as a girl she knew from her year, and she asked her how her summer had been like they were friends.


	16. Nagini: The Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Recommendation - An excellent post-HBP, H/Hr fanfic, _Harry Potter and the Three Travelers_ by shlamboozle, has recently been completed on this site. It's one of the best I've read.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter, and for their helpful suggestions.

---------------

**Nagini – The Beginning of the End**

Hermione sat in the Great Hall fuming as the three Hufflepuff girls walked away from her table giggling, two of them teasing the other. The target of their teasing had just asked Harry to the Valentine's Day dance. This was getting out of hand. Apparently the head students' strategy of keeping their relationship low key had led to the belief that they weren't that serious, and that Harry might be available. The seventh year girls weren't the problem; they knew Harry and Hermione well enough to know better. This was coming from fifth and sixth years. Romilda Vane had been the first, but Harry's polite rejection of her had done nothing to stop the steady stream of other hopefuls.

"Sonorous." The others at her table looked up in surprise as the Head Girl stood to make an announcement. "Attention Hogwarts girls. Harry Potter is going to the Valentine's Day dance with me. He's taken so back off!" She canceled the charm and sat back down, arms folded across her chest in satisfaction, her eyes daring anyone to challenge her. Harry reached over and squeezed her arm admiringly.

For a moment the Great Hall was silent, then some nervous laughter broke out. That had been so out of character for the normally reserved girl. They only expected her to be that passionate about rules and coursework. Of course, the students who knew her well were aware that she was even more passionate about one Harry Potter. Just then another student rose to her feet and cast the sonorous charm.

"Attention Hogwarts girls," announced Daphne Greengrass. "Ron Weasley is going to the Valentine's Day dance with me. He's not available either." As she sat down more laughter broke out. That declaration had certainly not been necessary. The gossip network was full of stories about that pair.

Next Ginny stood and publicly claimed Neville, followed by many of the other females in the inner circle of Harry's friends. Thus started what was to become a Hogwarts custom. Each evening any girl who had persuaded a boy to attend the Valentine's dance with her rose in the Great Hall at dinner (or breakfast or lunch if she was on the shy side) and declared her success.

-----

Alastor Moody, Viktor Krum, and Remus Lupin had joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the Hogwarts Headmistress's office to discuss the latest intelligence on Voldemort's plans. Dobby's house elf spy network had confirmed the information that Tracey had passed to Harry, that an attack was planned for the next Hogsmeade weekend. There had been a heated discussion on what to do with the information.

Headmistress McGonagall's inclination had been to simply not schedule another visit for the rest of the year and she had been horrified to hear that the others would even consider going ahead with one. Her responsibility, after all, was the safety of the students. She had argued long and hard last summer with nervous parents that Hogwarts was the safest place for their children. Surely they didn't dare risk the lives of the students when they knew there was going to be an attack on them. They just had to keep them in the castle.

She had not been at all happy when Moody had pointed out the problem with that course of action, and was dismayed that Harry, Remus, and Viktor were inclined to agree with him. Simply put, they couldn't keep the children locked up in the castle forever. Sooner or later, they had to leave, even if it was for the trip home at the end of the school year. In that case, they could be attacked at Hogsmeade Station, on the Hogwart's Express, or at Platform 9 ¾.

McGonagall was torn. Moody had made a good point, and of course they wanted to do everything they could to help Harry defeat You Know Who, but still – the children – they had to be kept safe.

Moody responded, and Viktor added that his muggle military advisors concurred, that they were better off planning a defense for an attack for which they knew exactly where and when it was going to take place. The problem was that this time there needed to be an actual visit to the village by students. Voldemort's forces were not likely to be tricked again into attacking an empty town. They would no doubt have spies planted in Hogsmeade to signal the attack to begin only when the students were actually present.

Reluctantly, the headmistress gave her approval to the plan, but only when she was assured that the first priority of the defenders would be the rapid evacuation of the students as soon as the attack began.

But the key part of the plan, from the light side's point of view, would be to take this opportunity to counterattack Voldemort. If he did not accompany his forces to the attack, this would be their best chance to go after him. If he did show up, they would do their best to isolate him from his allies. Harry exchanged nervous glances with Ron and Hermione. This was it. This was what they had been training for.

The whole thing hinged, of course, on first finding and killing Nagini. As soon as possible after that happened, a Hogsmeade trip would be scheduled.

After that issue was resolved, Remus and Moody revealed that seeing Harry's pensieve memory of the trip to the cave had inspired them to plant fake horcruxes. Once Nagini had been destroyed, Voldemort might be concerned about his remaining soul pieces. They reasoned that he probably already knew that the diary had been destroyed, and since Dumbledore had worn Slytherin's ring in public, he probably already knew about that. The hope was that he would assume that Dumbledore's death had eliminated the threat to his soul fragments.

So, they had retraced Harry and Dumbledore's steps to the cave and returned the fake locket to the basin. Fortunately, they hadn't needed to drink any of the poisoned liquid in order to put the locket back. That vile substance was only in place to keep anyone from taking the locket _out_. Furthermore, they had made a copy of Hufflepuff's cup, and had the goblins place it into the Crouch family vault at Gringotts. Their records were altered to show that it had been in the vault continuously ever since Barty Crouch Jr. first hid it there. Any inquiry into the contents of the vault by any representative of the Crouch family interest, which could possibly be made by someone with forged credentials, would elicit only a listing of the items in the vault, which now included the cup.

As the meeting broke up, the tasks before them were clear.  
1) Find and kill Nagini.  
2) Discover where Voldemort would be during the attack on Hogsmeade.  
3) Figure out how to protect the students and fight off the attack.  
4) Confront and defeat Voldemort.  
It was a very somber trio that left the Headmistress's office and walked slowly back to their rooms.

-----

Harry, Ron, and Hermoine were training harder than ever. It was now clear to everyone that they were the three most powerful students in the school, although in his classes and in the DA meetings Harry kept the true scope of his ability under wraps. All three had practiced several times with the power boost potion and Harry practiced weekly with his ring. At first he had some issues with control, needing to find the proper balance with his spells. It did no good to blind his teammates with a Lumos, for example. He did enjoy watching the delightful little shudder that went through Hermione every time he donned the ring. For her part, Hermoine was no longer embarrassed at the tingle that swept across her torso from her necklace every time Harry used the ring, so she could just smile and enjoy it. They considerately avoided embarrassing Ron by not revealing that particular effect to him.

While taking the power boost potion one training session, they decided to discuss what other potions might be useful. They decided immediately that restorative potions would be useful to have along at a battle, and Hermione grimly decided that blood replenishing potion was a must. That led Harry to suggest pain relief potion, but they decided against bone mending potions, reasoning that they wouldn't have the skill to make sure the bones were properly aligned before mending them. Then Ron had a suggestion.

"What about getting some more _Felix Felicis_?"

Harry thought for a bit. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. The last time I used it the potion seemed to have other ideas about what I should be doing than I did. I mean, it might decide that it would be lucky for us to not battle him at all, and avoid the chance of getting killed."

Hermione agreed. "You know, that's basically what happened to me last year. I was 'lucky' enough to miss the battle completely. And I have no intention of doing that this time," she added, preparing to give Harry 'The Look' if he even dared to suggest that that would be a good thing. Fortunately, he knew her well enough to keep his mouth shut. Ron reluctantly admitted that they were probably right. Hermione informed them that she would take care of getting the potions they needed and charming some unbreakable vials for them, and they resumed their training.

-----

Winky woke suddenly, her eyes wide in alarm. Something was wrong with her masters' house! Something that shouldn't be here had just entered. With a crack she flashed to the living room, only to be frozen for an instant in terror. Slithering from the kitchen through the living room toward the stairs was the largest snake she had ever seen. Obeying her magical imperative _Protect the house!_ she attacked without a second thought. Raising her hand, she shouted, "You will leave masters' house!"

But her spell merely rebounded from the snake and came streaking back at her, hurling her against the wall. However, it had gotten the snakes attention. As she pulled herself to her feet, slightly dazed, the snake, moving more quickly than a snake that large ought to be able to, bit down hard on her leg and whipped around before releasing her, sending her flying once more into the wall. This time she did not get up.

In Grimmauld Place Dobby abruptly became fully alert. _Something bad had just happened to Winky!_ In an instant he vanished, reappearing in the living room of the Burrow next to Winky's body and finding himself face to face with an enormous snake with glowing red eyes. Dobby only hesitated for a moment. _This was the snake that Master Harry Potter was looking for! He must be told!_ With tears in his eyes at having to leave his best friend to a certain death, but understanding his primary duty, Dobby disappeared with the loudest crack he could make, hoping it would bring others to aid Winky.

Charlie was the next one on the scene. He had been awakened by the noise Winky had made when she first popped to meet the intruder, and sat up in his bed wondering what had happened. Two crashes a few seconds apart from the living room quickly made up his mind that whatever was going on was bad news. He quickly pulled on his trousers and ran from his room just as Dobby's loud crack awakened the rest of the household.

From the first landing he spotted the massive snake hovering over the body of the loyal house elf, and immediately began hurling spells at it. He was accustomed to dealing with dragons and knew plenty of spells that would control them. This giant snake was a monster, but still puny compared to a dragon. But to his astonishment and dismay, the snake was magically shielded somehow, and his spells flashed right back at him. Diving the rest of the way down the stairs to avoid them, he rolled to his feet only to discover that the he now had the full attention of the giant creature. He had time for only more hex and tried to blind it, only to have this attempt rebound as well. He fell back sightless just as he felt the fangs of the snake sink into his shoulder. Within seconds he was unconscious and dying.

-----

"Master Harry! Master Harry Potter! Wake up!" Harry woke, immediately detecting the complete panic in the voice of his friend and leapt from his bed.

"Dobby! What's going on? Is headquarters under attack?"

"No, no!" Dobby was frantically pulling him to his dresser. "Is Bad Wizard's snake. It attacked Winky! It is being at the Wheezy house! You must come now!" Harry had been sleeping in a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt, and struggled for a second to process what Dobby was saying. Now Dobby was handing him his dragonhide vest and he put it on automatically as he finally realized that this was the opportunity they had been waiting for, even while he shuddered at the thought that the Burrow had been attacked and someone he loved might be seriously hurt.

"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione's sleepy voice sounded from his bedroom doorway. But there was no time to fill her in. Harry had just finished donning the vest and grabbed his wand as the anxious house elf clasped his hand to prepare to pop away. He only had time for a quick response.

"Nagini's attacking the Burrow! Tell …" But he was gone before he could finish the sentence.

-----

Arthur Weasley was only a few seconds slower than Charlie, arriving just in time to see his final spell rebound on him, and watched the massive serpent's bite paralyze his son. He cast a severing charm at the snake's head, but was ready and ducked out of the way as his spell was returned, allowing it to slice through the railing of the landing of the stairs. Jumping through the gap to the living room below, he cautiously backed away from the large creature. As he had intended, he had its full attention now as it turned away from Charlie's body and pursued him into the kitchen.

Arthur thought quickly. He had to keep the snake away from Charlie and Winky. Someone needed to alert Harry. Someone needed to get immediate medical attention for the injured. And somehow he needed to stay alive while all of this was happening. He knew very well what he was facing. This foul creature had nearly killed him two years ago. According to Harry, it had been possessed by You Know Who (and Harry) when it attacked him then. He wondered if You Know Who was in the snake's head right now looking at him. Suddenly, Nagini struck at him, and he barely dodged out of the way.

Realizing that this foe was somehow shielded from spells, Arthur tried another tactic. Levitating a kitchen chair, he sent it crashing into the snakes' head with a banishing charm. That had mixed results. The shield didn't protect it from this type of attack, but on the other hand it didn't seem to hurt it much. It also infuriated the serpent. Now, it attacked him repeatedly, determined to kill this annoying wizard. But Arthur continued to block the attacks by levitating whatever furniture was available. The kitchen table itself thwarted several strikes before Nagini's massive jaws began to dismantle it.

"Arthur!" came Molly's scream from the ruined stairwell. "What's going on?" _No! He had to keep her away! It was too dangerous!_

"Molly!" he cried. "Take Charlie and get out of here! Go! Now!"

"Arthur!" came the anguished cry from the other room. "I can't leave you here!"

"Molly, take Charlie and go!" Arthur shouted. "It's Nagini! Go! Run! I'll hold him off …"

Molly knelt before the unmoving body of her second son. It was her greatest fear. The boggart from Grimmauld Place had become reality. Desperately she looked back and forth between Charlie and Arthur, fighting the horrible serpent in the kitchen. Tears were streaming down her face as she was forced to make the awful choice that no mother should ever have to face – the life of her husband or the life of her son.

"Molly! Go now!" Arthur called in despair, knowing he couldn't hold out much longer. "You have to tell Harry!"

Nearly blinded by her tears. Molly gathered her son's body into her arms and activated her portkey.

Just then Arthur's luck ran out. With the kitchen table now in splinters, and all of the chairs destroyed, he had been reduced to hurling kitchen knives at the steadily advancing serpent. With one final lunge it had him. As the poison spread through his body and darkness slowly overtook him, he prayed that he had delayed the evil creature long enough.

Crack! As Arthur slumped to the kitchen floor, Harry and Dobby appeared in the living room. Dobby raced to Winky and gathered her body into his arms, looking to Harry for permission to take his friend away. Harry quickly waved him away before turning his full concentration to Nagini, who was now slithering back into the living room.

He fired a blasting hex at the beast, then dodged the reflected spell as it blew a hole in the wall of the Burrow. He stepped carefully around the debris with his bare feet, wishing he had taken time to put some boots on. Ideally, he thought, he would have taken more time to prepare for this encounter. Ideally, Hermione and Ron would have been here with him. But none of his encounters with Voldemort had ever taken place under ideal conditions. He would have to adapt, just as he had in the past. He knew what he had to do. This wasn't just an overgrown snake he was fighting, it was the final horcrux. He sheathed his wand.

"_So, Harry Potter," _came a hissing sound from the serpent. _"You realize the futility of trying to battle me. Are you now prepared to die?"_

"_Not a chance, you overstuffed worm," _Harry hissed back in Parseltongue. _"I just didn't want to mess up this nice house any more than you already have. You're the only thing that's going to die today."_

"_Mock me, do you!"_ returned the enraged hiss. _"For that you will die slowly and painfully."_ Even as the last word hissed from its mouth, Nagini struck. Harry sidestepped quickly, reached out to summon the Sword of Gryffindor, and swung for the exposed neck of the snake. But Nagini was too quick and dodged out of the way. Harry couldn't believe how fast this giant snake was. This was going to be more difficult than he had thought.

Harry drew his wand again, holding it in one hand and the sword in the other. For several minutes he and Nagini engaged in a deadly dance, the giant snake swooping in to strike at him, with Harry dodging away or summoning furniture to block while striking back with the sword, neither of them connecting. Finally one of Harry's lunges left him off balance and exposed, and Nagini pounced, catching hold briefly of Harry's left shoulder. But the venomous fangs were turned aside by the dragonhide armour, and Harry whispered a fervent thanks to Dobby for taking time for him to don the protective garment. His desperate return thrust had sliced off a bit of Nagini's skin, and the serpent recoiled in anger. Unfortunately, even though the dragonskin had blocked the snake's fangs, the pressure of the powerful jaws crushed some nerves in Harry's shoulder and numbed his arm, and he was having trouble holding onto his wand. He needed to end this soon.

A brilliant flash caught the eye of both serpent and wizard, and a warbling sound filled the air, bringing hope to one and despair to the other. The song of a phoenix. Temporarily distracted from its wounded prey, Nagini snapped at the colorful bird as it darted in and out, fearlessly jabbing at the glowing red eyes.

This was the opening Harry needed. When Nagini was fully extended from one of its futile lunges at Fawkes, he brought the Sword of Gryffindor around in a long sweeping stroke, connecting cleanly. The effort brought him stumbling forward off balance, but it was a success, as the severed head of the loathsome beast fell away from its twitching body. There was an eerie silence for an instant, which brought Harry scrambling to his feet in alarm. There should have been a scream!

Lunging toward the giant snake's head, Harry dropped to his knees, reversed the sword and thrust straight down. The poisoned tip that he and Hermione had been faithfully coating daily with Acromantula venom pierced the skull and pinned it to the floor, just as the glowing red eyes finally winked out. Now a piercing scream filled the air of the Burrow, and Harry leaned back on his heels in satisfaction, thinking that he would never have believed that he would be so glad to hear that awful sound.

-----

Ron, Hermione, and Viktor hurried up the path toward the Burrow, torn between the conflicting needs for haste and caution. When Harry disappeared Hermione had hurriedly thrown a jumper and some jeans over her sleeping attire and rushed to Gryffindor tower to wake Ron. Despairing of the time it was taking, she activated her portkey to Grimmauld Place as soon as she had awakened him (rather rudely he thought, since she had finally resorted to dragging him from the bed and dropping him on the floor), leaving him to dress and join her as soon as he could. She arrived in Grimmauld Place to find it in an uproar. Molly's appearance with Charlie had roused the strike team members who were permanently on duty there, and two had accompanied her and Charlie to St. Mungo's. To no one's surprise, they had found the floo to the Burrow blocked.

Viktor had been summoned and he appeared seconds after Hermione. Combining the fragment of the story that Hermione knew with the bit that they had obtained from the hysterical Molly, they deduced correctly that Nagini had attacked the Burrow, and that Harry, Arthur, and possibly Dobby and Winky were there fighting him. What they didn't know was if any Death Eaters had accompanied Voldemort's familiar or if it was a solo attack.

Ron had arrived just as they decided that two teams would apparate to the Burrow. Since the anti-apparation wards were still up they would have to make the final approach on foot. Viktor, Ron, and Hermione would go in first while the backup team would spread out and secure the area. All of them would be disillusioned, but the strike team members had practiced that often and were accustomed to working with invisible team members.

Being most familiar with the layout, Ron led the way into his house, entering through a doorway that Hermione didn't even know existed. Keeping one hand behind him in contact with his invisible friend, who in turn kept one hand on Viktor, he crept down the hallway from his father's study to the living room. Suddenly he stopped short, and Hermione and Viktor moved up on either side of him to look out over the wreckage of the Weasley living room and kitchen.

-----

As Harry knelt staring at his defeated foe, Fawkes alighted on his shoulder. He absently reached up to stroke the feathers of the beautiful bird, and the phoenix trilled in appreciation.

"Hullo Fawkes. I sure am glad you keep popping up like this," Harry smiled up at the magnificent creature on his shoulder. "You always know just when I need you the most, don't you?" Fawkes warbled an acknowledgement, then took flight again toward the kitchen. Harry immediately remembered that Arthur Weasley had fallen there, and as he hurried over he quickly looked around the two rooms to see if there were any other unconscious victims lying about.

As soon as he reached his best mate's father he knew things were grim. As he carefully cleared the rubble of what had once been one of his favorite places on earth away from Arthur's body, Fawkes perched on his shoulder again and leaned over the gaping wound, dripping several tears into it. Harry immediately recalled the eerily similar situation from the Chamber of Secrets, and watched eagerly as the pearly phoenix tears soaked into the wound.

Suddenly he snapped his head up. Someone else was in the house. But a smile came to his face as he sensed who it was. Due to his connection with her he could always detect when Hermione was near.

"Hermione!" he called out. "Over here, in the kitchen!" He heard the sound of running feet as three disillusioned shapes came into focus hurrying toward him. Viktor remained standing, alertly scanning the rooms for threats as Ron and Hermione fell to their knees at his side.

"Dad!" Ron cried out in horror. Harry automatically put his arm around his friend's shoulder in comfort, and Hermione scooted around to his other side to give him a hug. When Fawkes had done all he could, he looked up at Harry, trilled once, and vanished in a flash of flame. A moan from Arthur signaled that he was beginning to regain consciousness.

"Molly! Charlie!" The young wizards and witch worked together to calm Ron's father down and reassure him that the danger was past. With his additional input they gradually put the pieces of the story of the battle together. When Troy came in to report that the area was clear they decided that Viktor would take Arthur to St. Mungo's. The three students would return to school and fill Ginny in on what had happened, then Ron and Ginny could come to the wizard hospital when they were officially informed of the attack.

-----

When the portkey had deposited the three Gryffindors back in the Heads suite, Ron and Hermione tried to talk Harry into going back to bed while they went to talk to Ginny. Harry however, though he was exhausted, insisted on accompanying them. Even if he was still a bit uncomfortable around Ginny, he felt that he owed it to her to be there to support her during times like this.

While Hermione went up to the sixth year girls' dorm to get Ginny, Ron and Harry sat in the common room staring into the fireplace. Both knew, without needing to verbalize it, that each realized that the events of that night had started them on the path to the final battle. Likewise, without saying a word each vowed that they would not let the other down.

A short time later Hermione led a softly weeping Ginny down the stairs to join them. Hermione silently informed Harry that she had told Ginny everything they knew, and he returned a mental expression of gratitude. The four of them stayed there, taking comfort in each other's unspoken support until McGonagall came through the portrait hole to officially inform the Weasleys that two members of their family were in St. Mungo's and they would be taken to see them shortly. As they rose to leave Hermione gave first Ginny, then Ron a heartfelt hug. To her pleasant surprise, Ginny also received a hug from Harry. She managed a small grateful smile at him before turning to exit along with her brother and McGonagall.

Once they were alone in the room, Hermione had her first opportunity to take a good look at Harry. Finally noticing his injured arm, she insisted that he go to see Pomfrey, and he took the opportunity to fill her in on the details along the way.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that by yourself," Hermione consoled him. "I wish Ron and I had been able to come with you."

"I wish you had been there with me, too," Harry agreed. "I really could have used your help. But everything happened so fast I was right there in front of him almost before I knew what was happening."

As Madame Pomfrey checked Harry over and gave him a potion to heal the numbness in his shoulder Hermione vowed to herself that she would not let that happen again. Even if she had to use a sticking charm to glue herself to him, she was going to be there alongside him when he faced Voldemort.

By the time Harry and Hermione had returned to their suite he was dead on his feet, and made no protest when she led him into his room and insisted he get back into bed. Only then did it dawn on him that he was still wearing the same tee shirt and sweatpants he had awakened in a few hours before. A few hours that now seemed like ages. He quickly drifted off, not realizing that Hermione remained sitting by his bed for another half hour with her hand on his shoulder gazing at him and pondering the night's events.

-----

When Harry emerged from his bedroom into the Heads suite common room four hours later he knew at once from the expressions on everyone's face that things were not good. Before he knew it a sobbing Ginny was in his arms.

"Dad's OK," Ron blurted out. "But Charlie …" He couldn't continue and Harry turned a questioning look toward Hermione, his arms still wrapped around Ginny.

"_Charlie might not make it," _her voice sounded in his mind. Even as his shoulders slumped at the news, he nodded to her that he understood.

"_I need your help here,"_ he sent to her and she rose from her seat and joined in his hug with Ginny. Suddenly Ginny realized the position she was in and tried to pull back, beginning an apology for being so presumptive. Harry gently shushed her and bent close to her ear.

"It's OK, Gin," he whispered reassuringly. "We need to talk when this is all over, OK?"

Startled, Ginny could only manage a nod and a weak smile before the two older students led her over to the sofa where the three of them settled themselves down.

Soon Remus arrived and began the grisly accounting. Arthur Weasley was recovering and was expected to be released by the end of the day. Molly was heavily sedated and currently occupied a bed in the same room of the hospital as her husband. Charlie was in the wizarding equivalent of intensive care and his prognosis was shaky at best. Apparently Nagini's venom was now more powerful than it had been two years ago when Arthur had been attacked at the Ministry.

Harry nodded to the older man, and realizing that there was more bad news, indicated that he should continue.

"Winky is dead." Ginny started sobbing again and Hermione began weeping beside her as Harry stared at his defense professor in horror. Ron, still in shock from the other revelations, just shook his head and muttered something Harry couldn't hear. Recalling that Dobby had left the critically injured Winky to come and get him, Harry hoped desperately that the delay hadn't been the fatal difference, but realized that he would never know.

The bad news continued. The Weasly home had not been the only one attacked that night. Both of the other wizarding households in Ottery St. Catchpole and also been targeted. The Lovegood house had been destroyed, but fortunately Mr. Lovegood had been working through the night at the Quibbler offices. The Diggorys had not been so fortunate. Both Amos and his wife had been killed.

For the sake of the others, Harry tried to stay calm, but his anger boiled up inside him. All three families had supported him in one way or another, and all had paid a terrrible price. Harry smashed his fist onto the arm of the sofa, startling his friends with his sudden vehemence.

"We have to end this NOW!"

He was only slightly mollified by the remainder of Remus's report. The attacks on the Lovegood and Diggory houses had been made by Death Eaters while he had been battling Nagini at the Weasleys. After successfully completing those missions, they had converged on the Burrow, but had been ambushed by the strike team members still on guard at the site. Apparently the Death Eaters were new recruits on their first mission. It was also their last, as they were wiped out by Viktor's experienced troops.

-----

The next evening a council of war assembled in the Hogwarts Headmistress's office. The first question was obvious. _When would the next Hogsmeade visit be? _

"Under normal circumstances we would naturally have one on Valentine's Day, next Saturday," McGonagall informed them. "But surely we don't want to have it then. To mar an occasion like that with what is sure to be a horrible battle? Not to mention the dance we have scheduled for that evening."

"Actually, those very considerations make it the perfect day," growled Moody. "By the same reasoning, Voldemort would never suspect that it could be a trap." The other fighters reluctantly agreed with him and the fateful day was set. February 14 would be the day of Voldemort's demise. That would give them one week to prepare.

With that decided, they moved on to the details. They would announce the visit to the students at dinner on Friday, then shut down all owl post to make it appear that they were trying to maintain security. An added bonus to that would be that while they would have a week to prepare, the enemy would have at most a half a day.

Harry then took over and briefed them on the student's role in the conflict. The first and second year DA members would remain in the castle and be available to assist in any way possible. They had all mastered levitating charms, and so would be able to fetch or move things as needed. The third through fifth year DA members who would be in Hogsmeade would be tasked with overseeing the evacuation as soon as the fighting began. When that was accomplished, they would be available for castle defense or patrolling the grounds with the professors.

The sixth and seventh year DA members would remain in Hogsmeade, defending several key sites and the evacuation routes. They would be instructed to concentrate on shielding, and were to activate their portkeys if they suffered any kind of injury or if their defenses were breached. Their training for the upcoming week would focus exclusively on strengthening their shields and honing their evasion tactics. Harry announced the audacious goal of having 200 portkeys prepared and stockpiled by the end of the week.

Only the elite DA members who were of age and therefore legally adults, and those who had the express permission of their parents would actually engage the attackers. (The latter group included Ginny, Luna, and Colin.)

McGonagall added that all of the Slytherin students who remained in the castle would be quietly confined to their common room and several nearby classrooms under the supervision of Slughorn and the Slytherin DA members. Non-DA students from other houses would be sent to their own common rooms as soon as word of the attack was received.

Remus informed them that the designated portkey evacuation points from Hogsmeade would be Madame Puddifoot's, The Three Broomsticks, Dervish and Banges, and Scrivenshaft's. In addition, strongpoints would be established at Honeydukes (whose cellar housed one of the tunnels to Hogwarts), the Hog's Head Tavern, and Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes store (the former Zonko's). These buildings would be heavily shielded and charmed to withstand a troll attack or a direct hit with a Reducto blasting curse.

Viktor announced that the twins had developed a new weapon for use on Inferi. With the advice and assistance of their muggle military advisors, they had created throwable explosive devices. The first, when activated, would burst and coat anything within five feet with a thick, gel like petroleum based substance. The second contained a mixture of white phosphorus and magnesium, which when released would ignite the coating, creating a fire that would stick to its target and resist being extinguished by water. During the past two weeks, all of the buildings in Hogsmeade had been quietly warded with flame suppression charms. In addition to the elite DA students, all of the combat capable members of the Order of the Phoenix and half of Viktor's strike team would be present in the town. (The other half of Viktor's force would be kept in reserve, in case there were multiple attacks like there had been in October.) Every one of these fighters would be proficient in the use of the Weasley weapons by the end of the week. Also, Scrimgeour had promised to have two Auror detachments on site and undercover.

-----

The next day Dobby returned to the castle. When he appeared in front of Harry, he immediately hung his head and began apologizing for leaving him during the battle, but Harry was having none of that. Dropping to his knees, he embraced the house elf in a fierce hug, reassuring him and consoling him for the loss of his close friend. Dobby remained subdued for the remainder of the week, and he never did regain the irrepressibly cheerful and happy manner that had so characterized his personality prior to Winky's death.

-----

The deployment strategy of the DA had been decided weeks ago, so there was nothing during that week's meetings to tip anyone off that the fateful day was approaching. They had long since mastered the flaming lasso spell that they would use against inferi. The only noticeable difference was that the leaders seemed more tense than normal. Seeking to lighten things up a bit, Seamus interrupted a session that was reviewing the most effective spells to use against trolls.

"I seem to remember two first year students defeating a troll, and I'm pretty sure they didn't know any of these spells," he joked. "How about reminding us how they managed that amazing feat?"

It was a mark of how much Harry had matured that he didn't immediately snap Seamus's head off. That and the fact that Hermione sent him an encouraging mental message. _"Go ahead, we could all use a laugh right now."_

Although all of the seventh year Gryffindors were familiar with the tale, many others present were not. At first Harry tried to get by with telling them how Ron had used Wingardium Leviosa to levitate the troll's club, then released it to crash down on the troll's head, knocking it out. When everyone had finished oohing and aahing and congratulating a chagrined, but pleased Ron, Ginny piped up in a sweet, innocent voice. "And what did you do Harry?"

Shooting her a glare that he couldn't keep from changing into a grin at the wide-eyed guileless look on her face, Harry was forced to confess. "Um, well, I jumped on its back and stuck my wand up its nose." Amid the laughter and exclamations of disgust that greeted that revelation, Zacharias Smith shouted out, "Whatever possessed you to do something as incredibly thick as that?"

The students around Smith backed slowly away, not wanting to be the line of fire of Harry's retaliation. But Harry just fixed him with a quiet stare that made the other boy squirm. "Just an example of foolish Gryffindor courage, I guess. Or maybe friendship means more to some of us than others."

"But you hardly knew Hermione then," Parvati blurted out. "Why would you risk your life for a girl who …" she stopped, realizing that there was no polite way to finish that sentence. Up until that point not everyone present had realized that Hermione was the student being rescued in the tale. As everyone's eyes turned to her, Hermione moved closer to Harry and took his arm, gazing up at him with a smile born of gratitude, pride, and admiration.

The uncomfortable silence felt by everyone else was quickly broken by Ginny, who quipped, "Must have been that 'saving people thing' kicking in again." Chuckling at the witty redhead, the students broke apart and returned to their spell practice.

-----

McGonagall could scarcely believe it. She was finding it difficult to make more than two portkeys a day without tiring herself, but Harry had donned his ring of power and was churning out ten a day without any noticeable strain. _Perhaps … perhaps … _she thought to herself _ He just might be strong enough to pull this off._

-----

In a bit of unfortunate timing, the full moon was on Thursday, which meant that Remus would be somewhat weakened for the battle. No one dared suggest, however, that he might consider staying on the sidelines. Everyone who knew him was well aware that he was ready to die for Harry if necessary. Tonks did offer to teach that week's Defense Against the Dark Arts in Harry's place, who by necessity would otherwise be forced to fill in for Remus. But Harry declined, telling her that he enjoyed the teaching so much that it was actually a break in the tension for him.

-----

On Friday after McGonagall's announcement the suddenly somber elite DA members gathered to receive their final deployments for the next day. Lavender broke the ice by volunteering that she and Dean would by happy to take Madame Puddifoot's. This elicited giggles from the girls and sympathetic groans from the guys. The latter were surprised, however, when Dean made no objection to the plan. Seamus was also assigned to the romantic tea shop, and he loudly proclaimed that he would hang around outside, having no wish to witness the antics of the loving couple. When Harry had finished making the rest of the assignments, everyone was aware of a notable omission.

"Where are you going to be, Harry?" Ernie asked as a hush fell over the room. Ron and Hermione moved quietly forward and took up positions on either side of their best friend.

"Wherever Voldemort is."

-----

The night before what they knew would be Harry's final confrontation with his lifelong nemesis neither he nor Hermione were able to sleep. After a quick exchange of mental queries, they met each other in their common room. Without needing to speak a word, they curled up on their sofa together, holding each other for dear life, and spent what neither wanted to admit was possibly their last night together in each other's comforting embrace.

---------------

A/N 1 Since you might not notice it if I don't point it out, Arthur's frantic conversation with Molly mirrors the words of James to Lily when Voldemort attacked them. I wonder how many people have stopped to consider how difficult the decision was for Lily to leave James and flee with Harry. Perhaps that's why she never made it out of the house – she couldn't bring herself to abandon the man she loved.

A/N 2 A few months back I gave you a clue that the final battle would take place on Valentine's Day. A special prize for the first reviewer who tells us what it was.


	17. End Game

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter, and for their helpful suggestions and assistance with some of the wording.

-----

This is it! The big one. The one you've all been waiting for. In fact, this chapter ended up being twice as long as a normal chapter. Ordinarily I'd break it half way through, but I didn't think you'd want to wait a whole week to see how the battle ended. Isn't that thoughtful of me? So sit back, take your time, make sure your spouse/parents/children/siblings/boss/roommate or whatever isn't going to bother you for the next hour or so, and enjoy.

---------------

**Chapter 17, End Game**

Saturday, February 14, 1998

Minerva McGonagall watched as her students boarded the carriages for Hogsmeade, most of them with no idea that they were about to become participants in a battle that was sure to be a turning point in the struggle between the forces of light and darkness. Her stern visage masked the fear and anxiety that were tormenting her inside. Years of suppressing her emotions enabled her to maintain the appearance that today was nothing more than the day that annually marked the celebration of love. If all went according to plan, the wizarding world would have much more than that to celebrate on this day in future years. If not, well then they wouldn't feel much like celebrating anything for some time to come. Forcing herself to discard the negative thought and focus on the positive one, she turned back into the castle. There was much work to be done, beginning with turning the Great Hall into a receiving area for evacuated students and casualties.

-----

Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones finished up their final briefings of their two Auror detachments in meeting rooms of the Hog's Head Inn and the Three Broomsticks respectively. In ones and twos the undercover Aurors left the rooms to begin unobtrusively patrolling the streets of the town.

-----

Viktor Krum finished talking with Patrick Troy and closed his communicator, then opened his mirror. The two disillusioned strike force teams were in place at either end of Hogsmeade, each with one of the MILAN antitank missile launchers. They were carefully sited to give themselves a maximum clear field of fire. He waited until the mirror cleared and Harry Potter's face appeared.

"Everyone is in place. No sign of them yet. I'll let you know when the shooting starts."

-----

Lucius Malfoy finished speaking into the small band around his forearm, directly over his Dark Mark. These clever devices enabled him to communicate with the members of the inner circle of Death Eaters, and with his Lord Voldemort. The Death Eaters were all now in position. Everything was going according to his master's plan. Their instructions were twofold. The primary mission was to find Potter and portkey him to Voldemort where the Dark Lord would personally destroy his enemy once and for all. Their secondary mission was to kill Potter's closest friends: the Granger girl, the youngest Weasley boy and girl, the Longbottom boy, and the Lovegood girl. It would be a fitting payback. Those five and Potter were the ones who had humiliated him and the others in the Department of Mysteries.

He and his fellow Death Eaters were positioned at the places in Hogsmeade that Potter and his friends were most likely to visit, according to Pansy Parkinson. Dolohov was waiting outside Madame Puddifoot's, Pettigrew near the Shrieking Shack, Avery at the Three Broomsticks, and he himself waited by Honeyduke's. Macnair was on station near the gates of the castle. They were all disillusioned and would remain that way until their targets were in sight, no matter what else was happening in the battle. There would be no premature exposure this time. The only possible flaw in the plan would be if Moody spotted one of them with his infernal magical eye. And he was being taken care of. He activated the forearm band again.

"Everyone is in place, my Lord. No sign of them yet."

-----

"Hi Professor Moody." Alastor Moody stopped as he entered an alleyway, having just emerged from the final briefing of the Order of the Phoenix in the Weasley twins' shop. He had been musing about how few effective fighters the Order was able to muster for this battle. Arthur and Charlie Weasley were still out of action, as was Molly. Fleur, being pregnant, had to sit this one out. Aside from the members who were Aurors, Podmore, Diggle, and the oldest Weasley boy were the only experienced ones left. _Good thing they had inducted Fred and George last year._ No, this battle would be won or lost by the army of students Potter had trained, Krum's strike force, which Potter was also responsible for, and the Auror detachments that Scrimgeour had sent, mainly because he owed Krum and Potter a favor. Any way you looked at it, everything came down to Potter. The fabled Order of the Phoenix had been reduced to bit players. With all of this on his mind, he turned in annoyance to confront the girl who had just greeted him.

"How many times to I have to tell you kids?" he snapped. "I was never your professor. That was an imposter." The girl shrank away, duly chastened.

"I'm sorry sir," she told him as he turned away and headed in a huff into the darker part of the alley. "Stupefy." The girl looked around to make sure they were unobserved. "Accio Moody's magical eye." She finished up by binding him, and stunning him once more for good measure. _Polyjuice is a wonderful thing_, Pansy Parkinson thought to herself. She paused to sneer down at the ancient Auror. _Constant vigilance indeed, old man._

-----

"No sign of Potter, Granger, or the Weasley boy," reported Macnair as the carriages passed through the gates. "The Weasley girl, Longbottom, and Lovegood are together."

"Very well," came the reply. "Everyone, keep looking."

-----

Madame Puddifoot watched the pair of students at one of her tables. He was a tall, handsome black wizard and she was a pretty blonde witch. But to her, the more interesting thing was the way they were acting. She had watched young couples in her establishment for years, and knew how to read all of their body language. Each of these two was very nervous, but for different reasons. Each had something important to say to the other, and they were worried about how their revelations would be taken. From her experience, she was sure that the young man had nothing to worry about. The young woman, on the other hand, was justifiably concerned. She knew it would turn out better if the young man spoke first.

A squeal of delight and an excited hug signaled that his part of the exchange had gone well. Seconds later, the happy witch had a sparkling diamond ring on her finger. But Madame Puddifoot was not going to get a chance to see the remainder of the conversation, as hundreds of screams suddenly filled the air outside on the street.

-----

"A mixed force of trolls and inferi just appeared in the middle of the village," Viktor shouted into the mirror to Harry. "About a hundred each. No Death Eaters, no Voldemort. Krum out."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were waiting with rapidly diminishing patience at Grimmauld Place. They had taken their power boost potions and were ready to go. If Voldemort accompanied the attack on Hogsmeade, they would apparate there and confront him. If he followed his more recent pattern and remained behind, they would apparate to wherever he was located, assuming their spies figured that out. They had hoped that all the Death Eaters would be at Hogsmeade, so they wouldn't have to face them too.

-----

Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Colin were up from their table in a flash. Their assignment had been Honeyduke's, and they immediately rounded up the startled students. Neville quickly darkened the windows of the store. Dennis Creevy gave his brother a fierce hug, both of them realizing that they might never see each other again. Dennis had been assigned the critical task of leading this group of students through the tunnel back to Hogwarts, then standing watch at the castle end. They broke apart and he began herding the students down to the cellar. The sounds of an all out battle were beginning outside, and the students were starting to panic. But the presence of the older DA members who seemed calm and in control reassured them that they were going to be all right. Once the last of them disappeared, the remaining fighters shared a determined look. Leaving behind the DA members whose task was to defend the designated stronghold, the foursome went out into the street.

-----

A bell rang out in the crowded showroom of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The twins had linked the bell to a ward designed to set it off if a large number of creatures suddenly appeared in the streets of Hogsmeade. Immediately George flicked his wand and the windows of the store were transfigured into stone walls. As he hurried to the door, Fred spoke out in a magically amplified voice.

"Attention all shoppers. Hogsmeade village is being attacked. Please remain calm and we will evacuate you. If you would all move to the center of the store, Angelina and Alicia will be handing out portkeys to return you to Hogwarts. In addition, each of you will receive one free Wheeze, compliments of the house. Move quickly now and everyone will get out safely."

In the middle of the quickly forming mob of students, Angelina and Alicia patiently grouped them into threes and fours, passed out the free samples, made sure all of them were touching their portkey, and activated it. In one minute, each girl had sent fifty excited students back to the castle. At the door, Fred had joined George as his brother was pulling students in off of the streets, and providing diversions to keep the attackers away. Every troll got hit with a small blast of instant darkness powder, which disoriented it until it blundered its way out of the dark area. The inferi, which were at home in the dark, were hit with the corresponding bright light powder, which incapacitated them for a short time.

Once Angelina and Alicia joined them, Fred and George left the witches to defend the stronghold along with some sixth year DA members and they ventured further out into the street to begin destroying the invaders. The first spell they cast was a detection spell, designed to reveal anyone who was disillusioned. Unfortunately, Avery and Malfoy, the two nearest Death Eaters, were outside the range of the charm.

-----

As a rule, the residents of Hogsmeade tried to avoid being out and about on the weekends that the Hogwarts students descended upon the village. This time, they had been given little warning of the onslaught, so those who were caught up in it had retreated to the Hog's Head tavern, which usually had few student visitors. This was the stronghold that the members of the Order of the Phoenix had been assigned to defend.

When the fighting started, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore, and Bill Weasley hurried to the doors while Aberforth Dumbledore, in his other identity as the Hog's Head barman, loudly called on the bar patrons to remain calm and orderly. For a brief instant Bill wondered where Moody had gotten off to, but didn't have time to pursue the thought as a group of trolls came into view.

-----

At Madame Puddifoot's all thoughts of romance were swept aside as Lavender and Dean quickly gathered the couples at the other tables together in the center of the room. While Lavender methodically handed each pair of students a portkey, made sure they were both holding it, and activated it, Dean went to the door, where he guarded it while more students hurried inside.

Outside, Seamus rounded up every student he could see and sent them running into the tea shop. He had no way of knowing he was being watched by a nearby Death Eater.

Antonin Dolohov was filled with hate. He had seen the tall black student enter Madame Puddifoot's hand in hand with the voluptuous young blonde. It was disgusting. No, it was an abomination. A mudblood with a pureblood. He made one last check. No sign of Potter or any of the other targeted students. After quickly reporting this information to Malfoy, he joined the end of the line of students going into the tea shop, still disillusioned.

-----

Viktor and Troy were astounded at how rapidly Harry's army of students had responded. Within thirty seconds of the onset of the attack, the streets of the village were cleared of students, giving the MILAN missile launchers a clear shot. In another thirty seconds, the high explosive charges of the antitank missiles had eliminated a third of the invading force before the remainder had scattered and the defenders had begun to engage. Leaving the missile batteries to pick off any additional targets when a clear shot presented itself, the remainder of the strike teams jumped into the fray.

-----

Remus and Tonks had been stationed near the Shrieking Shack when the attack began. They quickly reached the few students who had wandered up that far and dispatched them with porkeys. As soon as they finished, they gave the area one last scan and headed for the battle. Just as Tonks apparated away, Remus pulled up short. His enhanced senses smelled a rat.

-----

Once Dolohov was inside Madame Puddifoot's, he couldn't believe his eyes. Instead of being filled with students in a panic, just waiting for him to kill them, the place was almost deserted. The blonde witch was calmly handing them all portkeys! His rage greater than ever, he pulled out his wand and started a killing curse.

But before he could even finish the incantation, she had dived under a table and his green jet of light merely destroyed a chair. Realizing he had missed his first chance, Dolohov whirled to face her companion, who he knew would not just be standing there taking this lightly. To his surprise, the kid was pretty good. But the veteran Death Eater was more experienced and as they traded hexes he maneuvered the younger wizard into the center of the room, where the overturned tables and chairs would be in his way, and where he could keep an eye on both of the students. Unfortunately for him, instead of cowering in fright at having just been missed by a killing curse, the young witch was fighting back.

However, Dolohov knew how to fight couples who were in love. They were too worried about each other. He sent a particularly vicious curse at the pretty blonde. Amazingly, she blocked it successfully but it had the desired effect as the distracted black wizard glanced anxiously in her direction to make sure she was OK. That was the opening Dolohov needed, and a full powered Sectumsempra cutting curse, a favorite of Severus Snape's, severed the boy's spinal cord and he collapsed, paralyzed from the waist down.

If Dolohov had expected her to crumble in terror, Lavender Brown sorely disappointed him. Seeing the man who was now her fiancé and the father of her unborn child lying before her in a slowly expanding pool of blood sent her into a fury. Erupting from the table she had dodged behind, she advanced on the startled Death Eater behind a flurry of curses. At first, he could only shield, withholding any attack spells until her initial assault was spent. Before that happened, however, he was in for one more surprise.

"Expelliarmus!" Seamus had finished checking the street outside and was wondering what was taking Lavender and Dean so long. As he returned to the entrance to Madame Puddifoot's he heard a crash inside. Quickly disillusioning himself, he crept through the door just in time to see Lavender's fierce counterattack. His disarming spell left Dolohov helpless just before a bludgeoning hex and a stunner from her hurled him against the wall and knocked him unconscious.

As soon as Lavender saw that her opponent was down and Seamus was there to take over, she hurried back to Dean. She hadn't had the chance to tell him about the baby, and now he might never know. Trying unsuccessfully to hold back her tears, she gathered him into her arms and took hold of the special voice activated portkey that had been issued to the elite DA members, which would take them directly to the Hogwarts hospital wing. "Poppy." She spoke the activation code and the pair vanished, reappearing a second later in the infirmary.

Dean thus became the first serious casualty of the battle. He would not be the last. In the meantime, Seamus magically bound Dolohov, snapped his wand, stunned him once more for good measure, and left him in the corner of the tea shop. Once outside, he sealed the door and ran down the street to join some nearby Order members.

-----

Back at Grimmauld Place, the trio's patience was at its end when Dobby finally appeared. Breathless, the house elf reported that Voldemort was exactly where they had expected him to be, lurking in the Riddle family graveyard. As far as the house elves could tell, he was alone. The bad news was that he had erected some sort of anti house elf barrier that prevented them from coming near the area. If Master Harry went there to confront him, the house elves would be unable to assist. Harry immediately thanked Dobby, gave him a hug, and asked him to inform Viktor.

"Well guys, this is it. This is what we've been training for." Before Harry could continue parroting his former quidditch captain's pep talk, Hermione was on him with her arms around his neck.

"You can do this Harry," she blurted out. "You're a great wizard, you know." This turned both of their thoughts to the first time she had said this, right before he left her to go face Quirrel, and ultimately Voldemort. Harry couldn't resist responding in kind.

"You guys are great too, you know. And it's not just books and cleverness, right Hermione?" Despite the tension of the moment, she managed a small smile and a slight shake of her head. Ron, who had heard this story many times, responded with a weak grin. Harry paused, then looked each of them in the eye. "It's bravery …"

"Friendship …" added Ron.

"And love …" finished Hermione. She couldn't resist one last hug, first for Ron, then Harry. "Be careful, Harry."

Harry pulled away and nodded. "Let's go." Ron and Hermione each pulled out their invisibility cloaks, and after a twirl of fabric Harry stood in an empty room. Closing his eyes he concentrated on the place that had haunted his nightmares. With a barely audible pop he disapparated.

-----

Outside Honeyduke's, Lucius Malfoy made another report. "Still no sign of Potter. I have three of the secondary targets in sight."

The response came back through his forearm band. "Potter is here," hissed the voice of his master. "I will deal with him. You may proceed against his friends." With a satisfied smile, Malfoy carefully moved into position.

-----

Blaise Zabini, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, and Zacharias Smith came out of Scrivenshaft's to join the battle, having successfully evacuated all of the students inside. Once outside, they found themselves faced with a group of trolls. Zacharias Smith was eager for the challenge. After all, if Potter and Weasley could take one of these out as first years, he ought to be able to handle one as a seventh year. He quickly learned that trolls were every bit as tough as Harry had tried to impress on him, as his stunner merely irritated one of the ugly creatures and caused it to target him first. It was the last lesson he ever learned.

Shaking their heads at their classmate's arrogant stupidity, the other three quickly adopted the tactics Harry had drilled into them, teaming up with their spells, and went to work. Three simultaneous bludgeoning spells hurled one troll through the wall of a nearby abandoned building, then the combined power of three blasting hexes tore another in half.

-----

Remus Lupin searched frantically for the rat animagus that he knew was hiding somewhere nearby. Finally, he located it behind a wall and leapt over it to pounce on his former friend. Just as he was about to grab it, the rat transformed and Peter Pettigrew stood before him once more. A brief exchange of spells quickly disarmed the disgraced former Marauder.

"Remus!" he whined, holding his hands out. "Old friend! Spare me. We were friends, remember? For old time's sake."

"Don't you talk about friendship to me, you traitor!" snarled the enraged werewolf. "Sirius and I spared you the last time and you betrayed us again. Without you Harry would never have had to go through the hell that has been his life for the last three years, and Sirius would still be alive."

"But I surrender," whimpered the pathetic little man. "Harry didn't want you to kill me the last time. He wouldn't want you to …"

"Don't you dare speak Harry's name to me," roared Remus. "He is everything you never were and never will be." But even through his anger, Remus knew that the lying traitor was right. Even with everything the rat had done, he still couldn't kill him in cold blood. Slowly, the weary Marauder lowered his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Too late, Remus realized that Peter had a backup wand hidden in his sleeve attached to his silver hand. In an instant Pettigrew was behind him, the silver fingers curling around his throat. Remus was easily strong enough to throw him off, but now he became aware for the first time that the tips of Peter's silver fingers were razor sharp, and his throat would be slit before he could dislodge his captor. Even now, he could feel the poisonous silver seeping into the scratches where Peter's hand had grabbed him.

"Wormtail! What are you waiting for? Finish him off!" A familiar female voice heralded the sudden appearance of a new participant in this deadly duel.

"Bellatrix!" Peter gasped. "What are you doing here? Where have you been?"

"Where I have been is no concern of yours, you sniveling fool. Suffice it to say that I have escaped, and just in time it seems, since you idiots have managed to bungle this attack completely." Peter had no response to this, but could only gape at the evil witch. "Now, are you going to kill this werewolf or do I have to?" Bellatrix raised her wand and pointed it at Lupin, who had been forced to his knees with Peter's hand still around his throat. "I thought not, you pathetic coward. Diffindo!"

To both Peter's and Remus's surprise, the severing spell sliced cleanly through Peter's arm, missing Remus completely, and the silver hand fell to the ground. Now Remus turned on his captor, but before he could strike him he was confronted once more by a squealing rat. As he tried to grab the rat it sank its teeth into his hand.

With a yell of pain, Remus hurled the loathsome creature with all of his might, right into the stone wall alongside the road. With a loud snap, the rat's neck was broken. As Remus stood there panting, the dead body of Peter Pettigrew reappeared. Suddenly remembering the other participant in the fight, Remus turned to see the dark visage of Bellatrix Lestrange disappear as she morphed into the familiar pink hair and petite figure of Nymphadora Tonks.

Remus dropped to his knees as the metamorphmagus caught him in a desperate embrace. He was already weaker than normal due to his recent bout with the full moon, and now the silver induced wound was rapidly taking its toll. "Tonks, I …"

"Shh, save your strength," the young Auror whispered to her lover. "We'll get you fixed up in no time."

Remus had his doubts. He had never felt this weak before. "Tonks, tell Harry …" Once again the pink haired witch interrupted him.

"Don't you dare give up on me! You are going to tell him yourself, you hear me? Now grab hold of this portkey and let's get out of here." Thrusting the charmed bracelet into his hand, she called out the activation signal and suddenly the area around the Shrieking Shack was quiet once more.

-----

Harry was once more in the place that he had hoped never to see again. But deep down, he knew that it was fitting that it should end here, where this final drama had begun with the resurrection of his enemy nearly three years before. As he cautiously moved through the tombstones he spotted Voldemort waiting for him.

"So Harry Potter, we meet again," the evil wizard began to taunt. "Come here. I've been waiting for you." Voldemort made a motion with his wand, but he wasn't casting a spell at him, so Harry didn't respond, though he continued to keep his senses on high alert as he approached. "I've made certain that we won't be interrupted here today," Voldemort hissed again, and Harry suddenly realized that an anti-apparation jinx had just been cast. "And it would be a shame if you were to leave before we are finished this time, so I'm afraid that portkey you're probably carrying won't work either." The dark wizard was clearly proud of himself. "After all, Harry Potter, you aren't the only one with access to goblin magic."

_So, _Harry mused. _Voldemort really does seem to be alone, and he intends to keep it that way – just the two of us._ That part of the plan, at least, had worked. "How utterly predictable you are, Harry Potter, and how arrogant," Voldemort continued to taunt. "Do you actually think that by leaving your friends behind and facing me alone you can keep them safe? Everything that has happened today has been according to _my_ design. Your friends in Hogsmeade are walking into a trap. Five of my most loyal Death Eaters are patiently waiting for them. Their sole task is to ensure that those closest to you will die today. And when I destroy you your failure will be complete. You and all your loved ones will perish."

Harry fought to keep himself calm. Voldemort had known exactly which buttons to push, as Harry's greatest fear was that those who loved him would die because of him. He forced himself to think of something else. _Geez, this guy sounds just like the evil emperor in Star Wars. I wonder if he can shoot lightning out of his hands._ With that image in mind, he regained control of his emotions and returned his foe's taunts. "You need to get some new lines, Riddle. Do all of you bad guys study from the same book? Is there some Evil Overlord's manual you use or something?"

Voldemort's anger flared and he raised his wand to punish this insolent brat. But Harry had determined that he would not wait for his opponent to get the first shot this time. Even as he finished his taunt he cast a full power nonverbal Reducto. Voldemort was caught by surprise, but not so much that he couldn't respond. With a disdainful flick of his wand he raised a shield, only to be utterly astonished when Harry's curse shattered it.

"What have we here?" he hissed, recovering quickly. "Young Harry Potter is far more powerful than he has any right to be. The only one way to increase your power that much is with dark magic. I should know, since I have learned more dark magic than any wizard alive. What delicious irony," he cackled. "The great hope of the light side has embraced the Dark Arts in order to destroy me. My victory is now complete. Even if you should by some unlikely chance defeat me, I have still won. Once you embrace the Dark Arts they embrace you. And they will never let you go." They had continued to circle warily around each other, and now Voldemort stopped. "But I have made myself more powerful than you could ever hope to. And for your presumption you shall suffer before you die. Crucio!"

But Harry was ready for this. He had studied every memory he could find of Voldemort's attack strategies. He always led with an unforgiveable curse, which would throw his opponent into a panic and off balance. Even if it didn't connect, the followup attack did. It was exactly how Voldemort had defeated his father. It would not happen to him. He ducked the Crucio and came up firing a spell of his own, just as Voldemort launched his secondary attack.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expeliarmus!"

Just as had happened the last time, their wands locked up together, bound by a golden thread. Once again, the thread splintered and a multitude of duplicate threads wove a web around them forming a cage of light. And once more phoenix song filled the air. Now it was a battle of will, and of power.

-----

Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Ernie Macmillan, and Justin Finch-Fletchly had finished clearing out Dervish and Banges. After carefully sealing and warding the structure, they ventured outside to see if they could help with the battle. The only opponents in their general area were a dozen inferi, who were pursuing a few terrified Hogsmeade townspeople past their location. Their training immediately kicked in, and the tactics they had practiced worked perfectly. Hannah and Susan each snared half of the inferi with the flaming lasso charm, while Ernie hit them with the napalm grenades and Justin followed with the incendiary grenades. As they watched the animated corpses turn into a belated funeral pyre, they forced themselves to remember that these creatures were already dead, and they were doing them a favor by releasing them from their curse and allowing the bodies to finally be at rest. As they moved carefully off down the street searching for more foes, they wondered if things were going this well everywhere.

They weren't.

-----

Avery was getting impatient. Potter was with the Dark Lord, and there was still no sign of his two closest friends. Malfoy had his sights on the other three. The battle had been going on for some time now, so the others must not be coming. There was a different group of Potter's friends before him. They would make good alternate targets.

The Three Broomsticks contingent of the elite DA had established a secure perimeter around the popular tavern. So far, Anthony Goldstein had been the only casualty, suffering cracked ribs when he mistakenly got within range of one of the trolls. He had been portkeyed to the Hospital Wing, and the rest were managing the defense successfully. Padma and Parvati were working flawlessly together with the flaming lasso spells and fiery grenades, and Terry Boot and Michael Corner were combining their firepower to keep the trolls at bay.

Avery couldn't believe how well these students were coordinating their attacks. The Death Eaters had never spent much time practicing coordination. They were accustomed to their victims fleeing in terror when the killing curses started flying, so they had rarely encountered an organized defense. These must be the students that they had heard that Potter had been training. They would very satisfactory substitutes for his mission. He took careful aim at one.

"Avada Kedavra!" Michael Corner crumpled lifelessly to the ground as the rest of the students sprang apart while spinning around to locate their attacker. As his disillusionment charm faded (it took too much effort to maintain the spell while casting killing curses) Avery fired more killing curses. But to his annoyance, he kept missing as the nimble students dodged every time. Then, they had the audacity to return fire! While he was able to block their curses, it meant that he had to suspend his own attack. Then one of the dark-skinned girls disapparated with a loud pop, followed seconds later by the other. Now this was more in line with his expectations. Mere students should not be able to stand up to an experienced Death Eater. He focused on the remaining student, deciding that killing two of the four would have to suffice. But before he could speak the killing incantation, a blasting hex blew away his wand, along with his arm up to the elbow!

Parvati and Padma had spent many hours on their own time practicing the maneuver they had just pulled off. First Padma would disapparate away, then she would apparate back behind the opponent as the noise of Parvati's disapparation covered her reappearance. It required perfect timing and coordination, and the twins had pulled it off brilliantly. By the time the pain from his severed arm reached his brain, three more blasting hexes ended Avery's career as a Death Eater, never knowing what hit him.

But there was no time to celebrate, or mourn. Terry quickly put a portkey on Michael's body and sent it off, and the grim students resumed their defensive positions.

-----

Harry soon became aware that there was a flaw in his plan. He had hoped to engineer a repeat of what had happened in the graveyard on the night of Voldemort's rebirth. But now he belatedly realized just how weak Voldemort had been on that night, less than an hour after emerging from the cauldron. For the Voldemort standing before him now was almost effortlessly forcing the large beads of light toward his end of the thread. His wand was already beginning to grow hot, and started vibrating. He was forced to grasp the wand with both hands, and concentrate with all of his energy to stop the beads just short. But Voldmort merely stood there with one hand casually holding his wand, seeming to toy with Harry. Once again the horrible cackle rang out.

"You foolish Gryffindor. Did you not think that I would remember the fluke that enabled you to escape me before? Did you really think that you could overpower me, with those pathetic dark rituals you used on yourself? Did you truly believe that I have been doing nothing since we last met? I have strengthened myself beyond your ability to imagine. I am many times more powerful than my newly reborn self that you encountered right here in this very spot. Oh no Harry Potter, make no mistake about it. You are going to die today. I shall utterly destroy you." Voldmort then reached his free hand into his robes and withdrew a second wand. "But first, you will suffer as you have never suffered before. Crucio!"

But the painful curse never reached its target. Just as it was about to strike Harry, who to the dark lord's surprise was just standing there with a look of defiance on his face, it impacted on a granite tombstone that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. Astounded, Voldemort darted a look around the graveyard. _Had Potter somehow summoned on of the tombstones to himself to block the curse? No, all of the grave markers were still in place._ Returning his attention to his foe, he noticed that the inscription on the tombstone was now glowing in bright golden letters.

**Tom Marvolo Riddle**  
**1927 - 1998**

Furious, he raised his second wand again. "Reducto!" This time a shield appeared in front of the tombstone and the powerful blasting curse exploded against it. _What was this madness?_ As if in answer to his unspoken query, another figure appeared beside Harry as an invisibility cloak dropped to the ground. The figure of a teenage girl. Inside the cage of light.

Hermione had determinedly kept contact with Harry all the way through his apparation to the graveyard, and his initial encounter with Voldemort, in order to be with him within the golden web. Now she was ready to join in the combat and play her part, shielding Harry against whatever the dark lord could throw at him.

Finally Harry spoke up. "Tom, I'd like you to meet one of my best friends, Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Tom Riddle. I'm sure you've heard me speak of him."

"You!" the enraged wizard shouted. "The mudblood who is so dear to Potter. You think you are so clever. You have merely changed the location of your death. I had already determined that you were to die today. It will only be more fitting now, that I can kill you myself while Potter watches, powerless to prevent it. But first, let me show you what I think of your little trick. Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!"

The first two killing curses destroyed the tombstone Hermione had conjured. No shield could block them. The third he sent streaking at her, trying to catch her off guard. But it was to no avail. She was alert and ready, and easily dodged it. Turning his full attention to her now, he fired a blistering array of curses at her, but to his amazement, she dodged, blocked, or shielded every one of them. Finally, he fired another killing curse at Harry, but she had anticipated that and raised another marble slab in front of him to block that too.

Voldemort paused briefly. He had exerted a lot of magical energy in that flurry, and Potter had taken the opportunity to force the large beads of light back to the midpoint of the golden strand that connected their wands. This slip of a girl was also more powerful than she had any right to be. Even though he was using less than half of his power against her, it should have been enough to break through the shields of a fully mature wizard. Apparently she had also undergone the dark power strengthening rituals that Potter had. No mudblood could possibly be this powerful naturally. He grudgingly admitted to himself that she was brilliant at detecting and countering his spells. That made it all the more important that she die. A mudblood that talented could not be allowed to live. He decided on a new tactic.

The dark wizard launched a nonverbal series of spells, mixing up spells sent at Harry with ones targeting Hermione. It took all of her attention to keep up, as she needed to determine what spell was being used, which one of them it was intended for, and what was the best counter, all in less than a second's time. Some she shielded, some she blocked, some she ducked. Through her connection with Harry he also knew when he needed to dodge.

Hermione Granger's prodigious vocabulary of spells and counters, developed over six and a half years of obsessive, near fanatical study, was being put to the ultimate test. Failure was not an option.

But without her notice, Voldemort had mixed in a nonverbal levitation spell on a boulder behind her, and another nonverbal banishing spell sent it flying toward the back of her head. Just as it was about to crush her skull, another voice rang out. "Reducto!" The boulder was reduced to gravel. Shocked once again, the dark lord turned to see yet another figure appearing from beneath an invisibility cloak on Potter's other side. This time it was a tall red haired teen.

Once more Potter spoke up in that infuriatingly calm voice. "Tom, I'd like you to meet my other best friend, Ron Weasley. Ron, this is Tom Riddle."

-----

Rubeus Hagrid and his giant half-brother, Grawp, had been charged with guarding the castle gates. As the battle began Hagrid hurried to collect the thestral drawn carriages, hastening them and the few students within back to the safety of the castle. Grawp covered him, easily turning back any trolls who ventured too close. In terms of size and strength, a troll was no match for a giant, and inferi were no more than rag dolls to be tossed casually aside. When Hagrid completed his task, the two of them began to take the offensive, clearing a progressively larger area from the gates of Hogwarts toward the village of Hogsmeade.

Walden Macnair watched all this with increasing anger. He hated all inferior magical beings, and had delighted in his former profession of executioner of wayward magical creatures. As far as he was concerned, they should all be destroyed. And these two, particularly the giant, were interfering with his master's plans. It was time to take action.

"Avada Kedavra." Macnair would have preferred to use his axe, as it was more satisfying, but a killing curse was the only way to bring down a giant. He chortled as the half-giant Hagrid rushed to the dead giant's body. Hagrid needed to die also. He himself was an abomination, being of mixed blood, and he had a ridiculous fondness for the disgusting magical creatures that Macnair hated. Knowing that there was nothing Hagrid could do to him, since the oaf couldn't even practice magic, Macnair stood and gloated while the brokenhearted gamekeeper's mournful sobs filled the air. Finally, Hagrid looked his way with hate-filled eyes and Macnair decided to end this drama.

Before he could voice the incantation of the killing curse he screamed as two sets of sharp talons dug into his shoulder. Looking up, he saw to his horror that he was in the grasp of a hippogriff! The hippogriff looked familiar, but before he could place it two crossbow bolts pierced his chest. Apparently Hagrid wasn't so helpless after all. Unfortunately Macnair didn't live long enough to appreciate the irony that the executioner of magical beasts had met his end at the claws of one of the creatures that had been intended for his executioner's axe.

-----

Pansy Parkinson had managed to stay out of sight while she waited for her polyjuice potion to wear off. When the attack had started, she had still been in the form of the young Slytherin girl that Crabbe had impersonated the prior year while guarding the Room of Requirement for Draco Malfoy. One of her annoying former classmates had tried to evacuate her from the village, but she had managed to disillusion herself in the confusion and get away.

She missed Draco. He had disappeared on a secret mission in August and she was impatiently waiting for this war to end so he could be released from whatever prison he had been taken to. If he had been captured by the Ministry it would have been easy to free him, but those irritating foreign fighters had been making things more difficult for the dark side.

Finally herself again, she approached Scrivenshaft's and was incensed to discover that three of the students battling in front of the quill shop were from Slytherin house! _What did these traitors think they were doing, fighting against the forces of her master?_ She raised her wand just as the trio before her immolated the last group of inferi in the area.

"Avada Kedrava!" Blaise Zabini's lifeless body fell to the ground as Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass whirled to face their erstwhile dormmate. The three pureblood Slytherins stared each other down for an instant, before Tracey and Daphne shared a quick glance and Daphne dropped to her knees by Blaise's still form.

"Parkinson, you fool!" shouted Tracey. "What do you think you're doing?" Startled, Pansy could only stare openmouthed at the girl. _What was she going on about?_ While she hesitated, Daphne pulled out a portkey and placed it on Blaise, then muttered something and both of them disappeared with a pop. Now it was just Pansy and Tracey.

"You just killed one of the Dark Lord's best agents in Hogwarts!" Tracey continued. "The three of us have managed to infiltrate Potter's army of do-gooders and have been sneaking out information all year. Who do you think helped set up this ambush today?"

"But … but you were just fighting against our allies," protested the confused Slytherin, lowering her wand slightly.

Tracey rolled her eyes dramatically. "These inhuman creatures are expendable. We had to maintain our cover. We already let them kill the other members of Potter's little group who were here with us."

"I … I'm sorry. I didn't know …" But Pansy's apology was cut short by her scream, as a slashing hex opened a gash from her wand arm, up over her chest and across her face. She dropped her wand and raised her hands to her face, staring horrified at the blood leaking through her fingers. She screamed again as more slashing hexes reduced her robes to blood soaked tatters. Slowly she dropped first to her knees, then to her side on the dusty street as she gradually lost consciousness.

"Bitch," Daphne's voice sounded as she moved forward to rejoin Tracey.

"What took you so long?"

"Well, I had to reappear far enough away that she couldn't hear me. Not all of us have mastered silent apparation as well as Potter and Granger, after all," she smirked. "Besides, I wanted to hear that masterful performance you were putting on."

Tracey gave her a mock glare, and gestured at Pansy. "If she had any brains, she wouldn't have fallen for your little stunt. She should have realized that portkeys don't make any noise."

Daphne shrugged. "She doesn't, and she didn't." Thinking back on her comment about Harry and Hermione, she turned to Tracey and asked, "How do you think they're doing?"

Tracey knew what she was referring to, and made an attempt at levity. "Probably Granger and Riddle have got themselves into a contest of 'Name That Spell' and each is trying to come up with the most exotic hexes they can think of."

"My money's on Granger in that one."

Tracey shook her head sadly. "Riddle's more than twice as powerful as she is. Sooner or later he'll simply overpower her, no matter how perfect her blocks or shields are, and she'll be history."

"Potter will go berserk if that happens. I wouldn't want to be in Riddle's shoes then."

"I think that's what she's counting on."

"You think she's going to deliberately sacrifice herself?"

"Not unless she needs to, but I think she'll willingly do it if she thinks it's necessary for Potter to win."

"I can't imagine loving anyone that much."

"It goes both ways with them, you know."

"I know." She turned her attention back to Pansy's now motionless figure. "What should we do with her?"

Tracey shrugged. "Leave her. If she's not dead yet she soon will be." Looking around, she noticed that the fighting had ended in this section of town. "Come on, let's find some more Death Eaters to kill." Daphne nodded and the two disillusioned themselves, then drifted off like a pair of avenging angels of death

-----

Lord Voldemort was growing increasingly frustrated. These three _children_ had him totally stymied. Potter was drawing off an unbelievably large amount of his power through the golden thread connecting their wands, and he didn't seem to be tiring at all. The other pair were as powerful as any two adult wizards he had ever encountered. It was like fighting against Dumbledore and two of his strongest Order members simultaneously. The blasted mudblood was countering everything he was throwing directly at any of the three, and the redhead was covering all three of their backs, and getting in quite a few attack spells as well. Their teamwork was impeccable. It was time to break them up.

'_Imperio.'_ Voldemort sent this spell nonverbally, and with no beam of light to give it away Hermione was unable to block it before it struck Ron. Its results were immediately apparent, however. Ron turned toward his friends with a glazed look in his eye.

"Ron!" Hermione screamed. "Fight it off! Come on, you can do it. Fight it off!" Nervously she tried to keep one eye on Ron and one eye on Voldemort. He had stopped attacking them for the time being, putting the effort into subverting Ron, his wand directing their friend like a master puppeteer. If he succeeded, it would be nearly impossible for her to shield Harry from him and Ron simultaneously.

"Ron!" Harry shouted at his best mate. "Focus, Ron. It's us. You don't want to do this. You can break free. Don't let him tell you what to do." Ron stopped, clearly struggling against the compelling voice in his head. His shield ring was glowing brightly, aiding him in his internal battle. He lowered his wand, but stood there still frozen in place. He would not fight his friends, but he could not break free either.

Hermione blocked another killing curse, as Voldemort evidently decided that he could not bend the young Gryffindor to his will, and tried to kill him again. She could tell by the way that Voldemort's curse impacted against the stone slab she had conjured that he was weakening. But she could see that Harry was feeling the strain as well. Which would outlast the other?

Deciding on a change of tactics of her own, Hermione sent a quick mental alert to Harry and hurled an instant darkness capsule at their foe, plunging them all into blackness. Taking a risk in the resulting confusion, she took a step back to get clear of Harry and used a summoning spell on Ron, then dropped to one knee, lowered her shoulder and braced herself. Ron crashed into her, was upended, and came to rest in a heap just past her. _Ouch, that hurt,_ she thought, rubbing her shoulder. But at least she had broken him free from the _Imperius_ curse.

Feeling his enemy's confusion, and in order to distract him from what Hermione was attempting, Harry focused his energy and gave an extra push on their connected wands. The beads of light moved to Voldemort's side of the golden strand. Just then Hermione, after giving Harry a mental heads up, tossed out the bright light counter capsule and the darkness vanished. Voldemort, who had turned his attention to Harry's push, was blinded and momentarily thrown off balance. Hermione took this chance to hurl a few attack hexes of her own.

She got him! Catching him by surprise, at least one of her spells made it through the shields he hastily threw up and part of his right shoulder was blasted away. Now the dark lord was absolutely livid. He cauterized the shoulder wound and turned his full fury on the impudent witch who was thwarting his every move. Withdrawing some of his power from his battle with Potter, he sought to eliminate this nuisance once and for all.

Hermione tried her best to shield and block him, but now he was just too powerful for her. His spells consistently shattered her strongest shields, and only her dragonhide armour and her protective necklace kept her alive. As it was, she was getting battered and beaten and was close to collapse. She realized now that she was moments from death. She only hoped her sacrifice had been enough to allow Harry to finish off their deadly foe.

But Harry was not idle during this time either. Seeing Hermione in trouble sent even more power flowing through his body and he poured everything he had into the struggle between the linked wands. The beads now moved inexorably toward Voldemort's wand and when they were on the verge of entering it the dark wizard was forced to ease back on his assault on Hermione to halt their progress only inches from his defeat.

Suddenly a disarming spell shot through the air from the other side of Hermione and caught Voldemort's spare wand cleanly, sending it spinning off into the air. Ron had regained his senses and was now back in the contest, catching their foe unawares with an _Expeliarmus_. Before Voldemort could react, Hermione sent a disintegration hex at the flying wand and destroyed it so that the evil wizard would not be able to summon it back. But the dark lord had one more tactic at his disposal. Just as Hermione was gathering her strength back to renew the attack, and Ron had already begun launching blasting hexes, an eerie glow surrounded the dark lord and every one of the curses was repelled. It was unbelievable. Voldemort had erected an impenetrable shield by the direct mental projection of his magical energy, without using a wand. It required an incalculable amount of magical power. Hermione suspected that not even Dumbledore could have done such a thing. This wasn't over yet.

-----

Viktor Krum was not happy. It was taking longer than he thought it should to clear the trolls and inferi from Hogsmeade. The Aurors were turning out to be little help for some reason. Gradually, his strike teams were working their way from the ends of the village towards the middle, picking up Potter's student fighters along the way. Up ahead, the center of town was finally coming into view. It appeared that a small group of students were holding their own in front of Honeydukes.

Lucius Malfoy had been judiciously biding his time. This section of town was seeing the heaviest fighting, and it had been difficult to get a clear shot at his three targets. So he cunningly reduced the number of combatants, casting low powered stunning spells (the best he could manage while remaining disillusioned) at Aurors while they were engaging trolls. Usually, this led to the troll gaining the upper hand and crushing the Auror. At last he had eliminated the last Auror and only the three students remained. He decided to have a little fun with them before killing them.

Ginny, Neville, and Luna had been managing to keep Honeydukes safe, but not much else. Colin had been knocked unconscious a bit ago, and had been portkeyed to safety. Now the threesome found themselves in control of only the small section of street in front of the sweetshop. They were, however, working well together, each using their strengths. Luna was not affected at all by the inferi, apparently regarding them as just another curious kind of magical creature to study. She nonchalantly used the flaming lasso spell to round up any who wandered by, whereupon Ginny expertly tossed the pair of grenades in quick succession to set them ablaze. Neville, with an occasional assist from Ginny, was powerful enough on his own to keep the trolls at bay. After some of them were blown back a few times by his blasting hexes, the rest kept their distance and looked for easier prey.

"Expeliarmus!" The disarming spell caught the three students by surprise, since they had not seen a single Death Eater all day, and they watched in dismay as their wands flew away. Bracing themselves, they saw Lucius Malfoy come into view, his wand pointing at them menacingly. Uneasily, they noticed that they were suddenly alone in the street, and had been maneuvered out of sight of the Honeydukes windows.

"Well, what have we here?" came the sneering voice of Voldemort's right hand man. "Three blood traitors." He glared at each of them in turn. "Longbottom, it looks like you've grown up a bit since we last met. You're actually able to fight without tripping over your own feet and bloodying your nose." Neville kept his cool, refusing to respond to the insult. "And Lovegood, is it?" I don't believe we've met, although I know about your father and that ridiculous excuse for a newspaper he puts out. Too bad the poor fellow lost his mind when your mother died." Luna only stared at him. The vacant look in her clear blue eyes unnerved him slightly, and he quickly turned his attention to the redhead.

"And Miss Weasley. My, you have certainly turned into a beautiful young woman. Of course the two of us have met before, haven't we. Still keeping a diary, my dear?" Ginny clenched her fists together as tightly as she could. She had to keep her temper under control. She wasn't as defenseless as Malfoy thought, but she had to keep calm and bide her time.

Malfoy continued his disgusting comments. "My son has commented to me about how desirable you'd become. Perhaps I won't kill you right away. He'll enjoy having a pretty little plaything like you once he's released."

Ginny could feel Neville tense himself beside her, and blurted out a response before he could react to the disgusting suggestion. "You stupid sick bastard! Your son isn't going to play with anyone. He's dead! You hear? Dead! Hermione Granger killed him last summer. What do you think of that? Your precious pureblood son killed by a muggleborn witch."

"Shut up, you disgusting little bitch!" Malfoy snarled, losing his composure. Part of him was certain the little witch was just trying to rile him up, but another part feared that she might be right. "You're going to pay for that insolent remark. Crucio!"

The first part of Ginny's plan had worked. She had gotten Malfoy to lose control, and to focus his attention on her, leaving the others alone. Now came the hard part. She was the best of all the DA at dodging hexes. She was going to have to use everything Harry had taught her to survive this. She easily evaded the first Cruciatus curse, and managed to avoid the second also. Unfortunately, she stumbled against Neville. Before she could catch her balance and leap away from the third, Neville had pulled her behind himself and stepped right into the path of the painful hex. With a scream he collapsed in agony.

"So, Longbottom," Malfoy snarled. "You want to play the hero, do you?" Igonoring Ginny for the moment, he twirled his wand and an all too familiar purple hex slammed into Neville as he lay twitching on the ground. "Here's a favorite of my good friend Dolohov. He …"

Malfoy's declaration was abruptly terminated as one of Ginny's throwing knives buried itself into his throat. His eyes bulged out as he dropped his wand and raised his hands to the weapon, trying to extract it. Before he could move any further Ginny was on him, tackling him to the ground, and plunging her second knife repeatedly into his chest, screaming her lungs out.

"Take that, you bloody bastard!" she shrieked at the man who had turned her first year into a living nightmare. "Take that for all the evil, disgusting things you've ever done." Her initial outburst spent, Ginny clambered to her feet, picking up their wands. Then she turned to him again, not finished yet. "Reducto!" Coldly, she began blowing the body of Lucius Malfoy into pieces with the blasting hex.

"Ginny!" Luna's shout turned her attention away from her grisly work, and she regained her composure. Then she remembered Neville and raced over to where Luna sat, cradling his head, and pulled him into her arms.

"Neville!" she sobbed. "Dear sweet Neville. Why did you do that?"

The hex that Dolohov had perfected and used against Hermione in the Department of Mysteries was designed to destroy a person's internal organs, leading to an agonizing death. Unlike the one Dolohov had hit Hermione with, this one was delivered at full power. The only thing keeping Neville alive for now was the fact that his dragonhide armour had mitigated the effects somewhat. Fighting to remain conscious, he lifted his eyes to Ginny's.

"I love you Ginny."

Ginny could only stare at him with tears streaking down her face as he finally lost his struggle and gave in to the pain, his head slumping to her chest.

Ginny was unable to move until Luna spoke again, while shaking her. "Ginny, we have to get him to Madame Pomfrey." In a daze Ginny watched while Luna pulled out Neville's portkey and wrapped both Ginny's and Neville's hands around it, then leaned back. "Poppy." The pair disappeared, leaving Luna all alone in the street.

Luna got up and calmly retrieved her wand and looked around. This apparently had been the final battle of the day. She stood silently and watched while two men raced up. While one of them knelt to examine the remains of Lucius Malfoy, the other turned to her and gave her an admiring appraisal.

"Hello, Viktor Krum," she said politely. "It's good to see you."

-----

The battle at the Riddle graveyard had turned one-sided, but was again at a stalemate. Voldemort had no means to attack them and hunkered down behind his glowing shield, focusing all of his attention on the duel with the linked wands, moving the beads away from the danger point. It was back to basics now, a battle of wills and whatever energy remained in each of their depleted stores of magical power. Hermione had used up so much of her magical energy that her attacks on Voldemort's shield had little discernable effect, but Ron, who was still relatively fresh, was having better results. The shield's glow flared slightly each time one of his spells impacted.

"Ron, keep it up!" Harry shouted out. "Every hit weakens him a little." Now all of the training and conditioning Ron had been doing began to pay off. Over and over again, he hurled full power blasting and explosion hexes at their foe. He would keep this up until he collapsed if necessary. Once more, the telltale beads began to slide toward Voldemort's wand.

For the first time, Lord Voldemort began to sense his imminent defeat. But he was the greatest, most powerful dark lord in history! He refused to be beaten by three schoolchildren! Now he reached deep down within himself, drawing upon all the hatred that had driven him for more than fifty years to crush all who dared oppose him. HE WOULD NOT LOSE!

Hermione watched the contest between the mortal foes in awe. Never had she witnessed such single minded determination from two contestants, locked together in a struggle for everything they believed in. It seemed like they had been going at this for hours. Somehow, she needed to find a way to help Harry tip the balance. She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, willing him to victory, offering him everything she could.

With that thought, the magical necklace resting on her chest began to glow once more. But instead of the customary warm caress that she so enjoyed, it was cold, and seemed to be sucking energy from her body. _This was it! This was what they had been told the linked necklace and ring were able to do!_ Concentrating hard, she willed her magical energy to transfer to Harry, and was rewarded as she felt him gather himself and straighten up, squaring his shoulders as he tapped into this new power source.

As she hugged him for all she was worth, willing every last bit of her magic to him, her hands felt the disillusioned .45 automatic in its holster strapped to Harry's chest. _'Take it,'_ she heard Harry's voice say in her mind. She slipped it into her hand as she fell to the ground, totally depleted of all of her magical energy. She had given him everything she had. Hermione Granger, the most powerful witch of her generation, was now a muggle, just like her parents. The power that she had worked so tirelessly to develop for these past seven years, that had shaped her very identity, was gone.

It was a sacrifice she would gladly make again if she could. For Harry Potter, she would give anything.

But she was not merely a muggle, she reminded herself as she crawled away from Harry. She was a muggle holding a powerful handgun. Exhausted, she pulled herself to her knees, then leaned back, steadied herself, and took aim.

Fueled with Hermione's magical reserves, but not yet realizing what it had cost her, Harry was finally able to release one hand from his wand and draw out the wand of Lily Evans Potter from its hiding place. With great satisfaction he watched the horrified look on his opponent's face as he beheld a doubly armed, vengeful Harry Potter. Even as he leveled his mother's wand toward the evil wizard, the first of the beads on the golden thread linking his own wand with Voldemort's completed its journey.

Screaming erupted from the wand in Voldemort's shaking right hand, as the reverse spell effect began. This time, instead of the ghosts of his recent murdered victims appearing, the agonized screams of the recipients of the dozens of Cruciatus curses he had cast in the past year filled the air with their hideous sound.

To stop the unbearable cacophony of screams, and to complete the disarming of his foe, Harry repeated Hermione's earlier action and used Lily's wand to launch a disintegration spell, to put an end forever to the brother wand of his own. When it hit, Voldemort's wand exploded in a gratifying blast, taking his hand with it. But to his dismay, Harry realized too late that the brother wands were still connected and the curse shot down the golden thread back to his own wand. In similar fashion, it also vanished in a fiery blast. Belatedly he released it, but not before it shredded his own right hand. The linked pair of phoenix feather wands were no more.

Amidst the noise of the exploding wands, mingled with his own and Voldemort's screams, Harry barely heard the shots ring out next to him. But their effect was soon evident. The first slug hit the dark lord with the violent jolt of a bludger to the hip, all but knocking him off his feet. The next shot a second later had the same impact but to his shoulder, spinning him around and reopening the wound that Hermione's earlier spell had created. Voldemort looked up and stared at the young witch in disbelief, only to be hit again, this time in the stomach, as another gaping hole opened. She fired again, knocking him to the ground as if shoved by a giant. As Hermione emptied the magazine of the automatic pistol the dark lord's body continued to jerk at the impacts, and more of the gruesome wounds appeared where the powerful slugs found their mark. When she had finished, the form of Lord Voldemort lay crumbled and broken before them.

Exhausted, Ron dropped to the ground and leaned back against a tombstone and Hermione lay down, trying to recover enough strength to get up. Clutching his torn and bleeding hand, Harry slowly walked toward his downed foe, scarcely believing it was finally over.

It wasn't. Right before their astonished eyes, the figure of Lord Voldemort stirred, then began to rise. It was only at this point that the three students noticed a curious thing that they had overlooked until then. There was no blood. The massive wounds leaked tissue and bone, but no red fluid emerged. _'What is this guy, the Terminator?'_ Harry thought, and to his horror, the wounds slowly began to close, as Voldemort's last bit of magic attempted to repair his shattered body. And only then did the full reality of the situation strike him. Voldemort indeed was not human. Harry himself had witnessed his birth. He had emerged from the cauldron, the product of magic alone. This was no longer a human being. It was merely a vessel housing the last of the seven fragments of Tom Riddle's soul. It was the final horcrux. And Harry knew what he must do to complete its destruction.

Reaching out with his still functioning left hand, he called forth the sword of Gryffindor and moved resolutely forward to where his nemesis had now managed to move to a kneeling position. But the evil wizard still had a card to play. Before Harry could reach him he thrust out his remaining hand and one last spell issued forth from his fingertips. _Crucio!_ Harry jumped to the side, only to realize to his horror that the spell had not been directed at him. Screams erupted behind him as one of his worst nightmares became reality. Hermione, lying helpless and writhing, screaming in agony under the dark lord's _Cruciatus_ curse.

Acting on pure instinct, Harry lashed out with the sword, severing Voldemort's remaining arm at the elbow. The curse ended, and Hermione's screams abruptly ceased. But as much as he needed to know that she was all right, Harry could not turn to look at Hermione, as he dared not divert his attention from his wounded, but still deadly foe.

"Harry, she's OK," came Ron's voice, filling him with relief. "Finish the bastard off!"

But even facing total defeat, Lord Voldemort remained defiant. As Harry raised the tip of Gryffindor's blade to his throat, he sneered. "You cannot defeat me, Harry Potter. You may destroy this body, but I shall return once again, more powerful than ever. You have merely delayed the inevitable."

"But you are wrong, Tom Riddle," Harry returned calmly. "You are no longer immortal. My friends and I have destroyed your horcruxes. All three of them."

The high pitched evil cackle of Voldemort pierced the air. "You fool!" he shouted. "You stupid, Gryffindor fool! Seven is the magical number. Seven. You only have half of them. When this body is destroyed my essence will once again fly free, and will easily find some weak creature to possess. Make no mistake. I will return once again and destroy you!"

"Seven, you say," stated Harry, still calm. "Seven. The diary. The ring. The cup. The dagger. The locket. The snake. And now you. All seven. Farewell, Tom Riddle."

Complete and utter terror now filled the snakelike visage of the inhuman creature before Harry, as death, the thing he had always feared above all else, was now only moments away. "No! No, you can't. Join me. Join me and we will rule the world together. I'll give you anything, anything you want. Whatever you desire will be yours."

"Anything?" Harry paused, as though considering the offer.

"Anything. Anything you want."

"Offer me money."

"Money. All the money you could dream of."

"Power too. Promise me that."

"All the power in the world will be yours."

Ron listened in alarm. _What is Harry doing? He can't possibly be willing to deal with this snake._ A groan from Hermione, who he had gathered into his arms, caused him to look down. To his surprise, she had the faintest smirk on her face.

"Offer me anything I ask for." Harry continued.

"Yes. Yes. Anything."

"I WANT MY MOTHER AND FATHER BACK YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

With all the strength he still possessed, Harry thrust the gleaming sword up, through the jaw and into the brain of the creature that had once been Tom Riddle. A more awful scream than any he had yet heard burst forth, a final surge of magic knocked him to the ground, and he was blinded by a flash of light, as the final fragment of the soul of the wizard who called himself Lord Voldemort passed forever from the earth.

Harry crawled over to where Ron sat leaning against the tombstone with Hermione's head resting in his lap and dropped down next to her. "Hermione," he gasped, "are you OK?"

Hermione didn't open her eyes, but there was a slight smile on her face. In a voice that was barely more than a whisper she chided, "I do not believe … that you just destroyed …the most powerful dark lord in history … while quoting a line from _The Princess Bride_."

Harry grinned at her. "Hey, I liked that movie."

But Hermione did not respond. Through the sheer strength of her indomitable will, she had forced her battered, exhausted and magically depleted body to remain conscious until Harry had fulfilled his destiny. The cruciatus curse, striking her when she no longer had any magical defenses, had nearly destroyed her nervous system. Now that she knew that Harry was safe she could finally let go, and succumb to the blissful darkness.

Realizing that Hermione had passed out, Harry turned his attention away from her and noticed that the phoenix song which had issued from the threads of the dome shaped web had not ended when the web dissolved. Now it came closer and he finally spotted Fawkes circling overhead, spiraling in for a landing. Alighting on Harry's shoulder, Fawkes gave a trill of acknowledgement, then leaned his head over Harry's bloody hand, which had been torn apart when the wands exploded. In a minute the phoenix tears had healed the wounds and the hand was once again as good as new.

"Thanks again, Fawkes," Harry said gratefully. "Thanks for everything." Fawkes gave Harry a long, sorrowful look and Harry realized that this was it. Fawkes had remained behind to complete Dumbledore's unfinished business, but now his work was done. This was goodbye. Fighting back tears at the loss of his friend, Harry stroked the soft feathers one final time. Then the phoenix flicked his beautiful tail and a single, perfect tail feather fell into Harry's hand. Immediately Harry realized that this was the magnificent creature's last parting gift. One last tail feather for Harry to replace the wand that had just been destroyed. And this time there would be no brother wand. Unable to think of anything to say to express his thanks, Harry could only nod. Fawkes returned the nod, spread his mighty wings, took to the air, and vanished in a bright flash, never to be seen again.

Harry now felt himself fading fast. Looking up at Ron, he realized that ironically, his best mate was leaning against the tombstone of Tom Riddle, the very stone to which Harry had been bound, helpless, as he witnessed the rebirth of Lord Voldemort nearly three years ago. It was uniquely fitting that this same stone should be witness to the dark lord's final destruction.

"Ron," Harry finally managed. "We did it mate. We did it." Then he also let go, and his head came to rest next to Hermione's. His arm reflexively curled around her waist as the consciousness slowly ebbed from his body, and he fell into a well-deserved rest.

Ron just sat there, watching his two best friends entwined together on his lap. They had indeed done it. Harry had destroyed the scourge of the wizarding world, and Hermione and he had been there with him, fighting together all the way to the end. The boy who had lived all his life in the shadow of his brothers had just taken part in the greatest accomplishment of his lifetime. He would find fame now, beyond his wildest dreams. But that was no longer so important to him. He finally understood what truly mattered. Harry Potter had fulfilled the prophesy. And he, Ron Weasley, had been there and come through when Harry had needed him the most. The three of them had done it as a team. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Even better than quidditch.

---------------

A/N Whew! This was the longest chapter I've ever written. What do you think? Wouldn't this be a good place to end the story? ;-)

A/N 2 King Tad figured out the hint I mentioned last chapter about the date of the final battle. It was pretty subtle, so I'm not surprised it took so long. It was the date of death on the tombstone in my story 'Greater Love'.


	18. What Comes After?

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter, and for their helpful suggestions.

Sorry for any anxious moments I may have caused with my tease at the end of last chapter about that being a good ending point. Just to make everything clear there will be two wrap-up chapters (including this one) followed by a final resolving of relationships + epilogue.

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**Chapter 18, What Comes After?**

Minerva McGonagall had lost count of the number of times she had stopped pacing and told herself to keep calm. She had always made it a rule to never second guess herself, but she couldn't help worrying about what would happen to her students. Would they get out in time? Of course, if Harry didn't succeed in destroying Voldemort, none of them would be safe. Once again she reflected on the thought that battles might be even more stressful for those who waited on the sidelines. The professors and younger students had been deployed according to the plan. Firenze, Pomona Sprout and Rolanda Hooch were patrolling the outside of the castle, Firenze and Sprout on the ground and Hooch in the air. Hagrid and his half brother Grawp were stationed at the gates. Horace Slughorn was in the dungeons keeping an eye on the Slytherin students, while Aurora Sinistra was keeping watch from the Astronomy Tower.

Augusta Longbottom, Arabella Figg, and Irma Pince were with her in the Great Hall, trying to give the appearance of being relaxed and composed for the few students who were about. Filius Flitwick was in the infirmary prepared to assist Poppy Pomfrey. Andromeda and Ted Tonks, along with Septima Vector, had been stationed by the tunnel entrances and the remainder of the staff was patrolling the corridors.

Each of the groups of professors had been assigned some of the first and second year DA students as messengers and assistants. McGonagall had smiled when she discovered that she had been given Harry and Hermione's favorite first years, the five muggleborn students. She recalled that the two Gryffindors were Laura and Kristin, with Laura being the quiet one and Kristin the chatty one. The Ravenclaw who so reminded her of Hermione was Carolyn. The two boys were a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw – Mark and Jon were their names but she couldn't remember which was which.

Without warning her thoughts were redirected as a throng of students began appearing from nowhere and tumbling to the floor of the Great Hall. About one hundred fifty students had gone into Hogsmeade that morning, and somewhere between forty and fifty were remaining behind to fight or defend. The result was that nearly one hundred students (not including the ones escaping through the Honeydukes tunnel) came crashing into the Great Hall over a period of about thirty seconds.

The three professors moved quickly to sort them out and check for injuries. There were quite a few bumps and bruises from the mass portkey landing, but only two serious injuries – a broken arm and a sprained knee. While Longbottom, Pince, and Figg treated the others, McGonagall quickly levitated those two onto stretchers that had been previously conjured and stacked along one of the walls, and sent them up to the Hospital Wing with Laura and Carolyn. While this was going on, the third through fifth year DA members quickly formed themselves up into squads and raced off to their pre-assigned defensive positions in the castle and on the grounds, joining the professors in those locations. Once the initial flurry of excitement had passed, McGonagall moved among the shaken students gathering as much information as she could before sending them back to their common rooms with Kristin, Mark, and Jon. Then it was back to waiting again.

In the Hospital Wing the first indication that the battle had begun was when Laura and Carolyn showed up with the two injured students. Very shortly after that the first emergency case arrived, as Lavender Brown stumbled into view sobbing and holding on to Dean Thomas. Madame Pomfrey immediately left the first two for Flitwick to deal with and concentrated on the unconscious and heavily bleeding Gryffindor. Over the course of the next half hour the mood in the infirmary steadily became more somber, as injured and dead fighters gradually appeared. Zacharias Smith showed up just ahead of Remus and Tonks, with Flitwick taking on the grim task of dealing with the Hufflepuff student's body while Pomfrey tended Remus's wounds. Anthony Goldstein and Colin Creevy were next, and were easily treated, before the bodies of Michael Corner and Blaise Zabini joined Smith's. Finally, a distraught Ginny arrived clutching desperately onto Neville Longbottom. By this time McGonagall had moved to the Hospital Wing, since not much was happening in the Great Hall. She quickly sent one of the runners to fetch Augusta Longbottom as Madame Pomfrey carefully moved Neville into one of the beds in the critical section of the infirmary.

As it gradually became more evident that the Hogsmeade battle was drawing to a close, one question began to dominate everyone's thoughts. _'What was happening with Harry, Ron, and Hermione?'_

-----

Ron's head jerked up as he suddenly realized that he had fallen asleep. Judging by the sun it was getting on in the afternoon, and his stiff body reminded him that he was still leaning against a tombstone with the unconscious forms of his best friends sprawled out on his lap. A glance over at the remains of Voldemort confirmed that it had not been a dream – they really had destroyed the dark lord. Now it looked like it was up to him to get them back home. He soon discovered that the anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards were still operating. He knew that Harry had a mirror that could contact Viktor Krum, but it was keyed to Harry and wouldn't work for Ron. Next he decided to try Hermione's cell phone.

While digging it out of her pack, he spotted the potions she had been carrying and decided to take one of the restorative potions. Looking at Harry and Hermione, it was obvious that they needed it more than he did, and Harry could probably use a dose of the blood replenishing potion as well, but since they were unconscious there was nothing he could do about it. He turned his attention to trying to figure out how to use the cell phone and began pushing the buttons.

After a few frustrating clicks and beeps, followed by a voice saying something about minutes, there was a buzzing sound, which made him pause for a bit. Just as he was about to give up and press some more buttons, another voice sounded.

"Hermione?"

"Hello?" Ron shouted. He still didn't quite have the hang of how loud you talked on one of these things.

"Harry?" The woman's voice replied. "Is that you?"

"No, it's Ron. Who's this?"

"This is Emma Granger, Hermione's mum. You're Hermione's friend, right? What's going on? And you don't need to shout, dear."

Initially, Ron nearly gave Emma a heart attack when he told her they had just killed Voldemort, and she assumed that Hermione and Harry must be dead if Ron was the only one left to use the phone. Eventually he managed to reassure her that they were alive but unconscious and he was trying to contact someone who could assist them. Once she got herself under control, she explained to him which buttons he needed to push to call Remus's and Tonks's cell phones. Unfortunately, Remus was lying near death in the Hogwarts infirmary with Tonks by his side. In the bedlam of the Hospital Wing no one heard the phones ringing.

Trembling with excitement, Emma Granger hurried to tell Dan the news, and they immediately began to make arrangements to end their trip and catch the first plane they could book back home.

Meanwhile, Ron was still trying to figure out what to try next. If he picked them up and carried them far enough, he could get out of the range of the portkey supression charm. But he would have to carry them one at a time and he didn't really want to leave the other behind in this horrible place. Then, he spotted something flying toward him in the distance. Thinking quickly, he summoned the invisibility cloaks and put them over Harry and Hermione, then disillusioned himself as he kept an eye on the figures that were steadily growing larger. They appeared to be men on broomsticks. If they were Death Eaters he was in trouble. Steeling himself for another fight, he drew his wand and waited.

As they came closer, he noticed that the fliers were being led by a snowy owl and a big smile broke out on his face accompanied by a sigh of relief. Good old Hedwig had come through again. Dropping the disillusionment charm, he waved the three wizards over to him as he finally recognized Viktor Krum, Patrick Troy, and his brother Bill. After some hugs of joy he excitedly filled them in with a very short version of what had happened in the graveyard, and indicated Voldemort's body. Wasting no time, Bill set to work dismantling the goblin portkey supression charm. Ron watched, fascinated, as his older brother the curse breaker went about his business. He had never seen such complicated wand movements. When Bill finished, each of the rescuers took one of the students.

As Viktor Krum carefully picked up Hermione, he stood for a moment staring at the woman in his arms, thinking about what might have been. He shook his head in amusement. He had known, even back then, that the most important person in her life was Harry Potter.

Patrick Troy easily hoisted Harry into his strong arms, and smiled as Hedwig landed on his shoulder and nipped at his ear. The large Irishman also looked down at the figure he held, recalling the brash young student who had challenged him at his birthday party just over six months ago. He would never have believed back then that the skinny kid would be the one who would deliver the world from the dark lord. But now, he believed. This kid was the toughest man he would ever meet in his life.

Bill Weasley embraced his younger brother with tears in his eyes. Ron was now as big as he was, and there was no hint remaining of the scared boy who had been intimidated by his older brothers, and who had despaired of ever escaping their shadows. Now before him stood a man who had just accomplished the unimaginable, who he knew he would admire for the rest of his life.

Pulling themselves back from their thoughts, the three rescuers nodded to each other and activated their portkeys.

-----

"What's wrong, Poppy?" McGonagall inquired in a low voice. Madame Pomfrey just shook her head. The arrival of the trio in the hospital wing a few minutes before with their three rescuers had set off an uproar. It had taken a few minutes for the headmistress and the school nurse to reestablish control. The infirmary had been cleared of everyone except the most serious cases and their loved ones. Nothing was going to pry Lavender away from Dean; likewise Tonks from Remus. Augusta Longbottom was allowed to remain with Neville, and Ginny, who had been with Neville and was now frantically dashing between her brother and her two best friends, was also permitted to stay. Now, Pomfrey had finally finished her diagnoses.

"Mr. Weasley will be fine, but Mr. Potter and Miss Granger are suffering from magical exhaustion." She hesitated. "I've seen cases like Potter's before, and he'll probably recover after a few days but Granger …" she trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"What?" McGonagall had never seen Poppy react this way to an injured patient.

"Miss Granger's magic is completely gone." McGonagall stared at the nurse wide-eyed as she continued. "And I don't know how I can treat her. It's as though she's a muggle now. I doubt if she'll respond to magical healing. But she's the most badly banged up of the three of them. I think I can use healing spells on her cuts and bruises, but I don't dare give her any potions."

McGonagall managed to reign in her shock. She had work to do. The students would need to be informed about the victory, as well as the losses that had been suffered. There would be reporters and Ministry officials to deal with. Meeting with the parents of the three dead students would be of the highest priority. As distressed as she was about what had happened to her favorite student, this troubling piece of information regarding Hermione needed be kept under wraps for now.

-----

Viktor Krum ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he looked at the casualty reports from the battle. _How had he ended up in this position, effectively the man in charge of the victorious light side forces?_ That thought brought a guilty grimace to his face. It was because all the other leaders were either lying unconscious in hospital beds or were missing in action, he reminded himself.

The Order of the Phoenix was leaderless. Remus Lupin was in critical condition in the Hogwart's Hospital Wing, and Alastor Moody's missing body would soon be recovered from a pile of rubble in an alleyway in Hogsmeade. Harry and Hermione were both still unconscious, and likely to remain that way for some time. And Rufus Scrimgeour was nowhere to be found, having sent word only that he was engaged in a highly sensitive matter.

_But we got all of the Death Eaters_, he mused in satisfaction. Once they had picked up Dolohov at Madame Puddefoot's, along with the recovery of the bodies of Malfoy, Avery, Pettigrew, and Macnair, they had accounted for the last of Voldemort's inner circle.

He groaned again as he picked up some more papers. At least Ron Weasley was doing his part, Viktor thought gratefully. After a check up and short stay in the Hogwarts infirmary Madame Pomfrey had released him. He had immediately met with the elite DA members and exchanged information with them, then the whole lot of them had met with rest of the students, answering their questions as fully as they could. Although the Valentine's Day dance scheduled for that evening had obviously been canceled, the celebrations going on at Hogwarts were unmatched by any in recent history.

After that, Ron and the Lovegood girl had agreed to make a statement to reporters from the front steps of the castle. Viktor was delighted to have them take on that task, since he wasn't much more fond of reporters than Harry was. Luna Lovegood, though, was particularly skillful at dealing with them, seemingly regarding it as some kind of a game.

Viktor had not forgotten his deal with Rita Skeeter. As soon as he and Troy had delivered the teens to Hogwarts, he had summoned a strike team and returned to the Riddle graveyard, where they collected the remains of Voldemort for proof, and taken pictures. A certain beetle animagus had accompanied them, unobserved by the others. Rita would also be getting some exclusive interviews, although Luna would make sure that the Quibbler had equal access to everything she wrote.

He returned his attention to the casualties. His strike force had come through relatively unscathed. Potter's student army had suffered three killed and two seriously wounded, not too bad since they were in the thick of the fighting. The Auror ranks, though, had been devastated. More than half of them had been killed or critically injured. The question was sure to be raised – why? The easy answer, which was also not a particularly wise one from a political standpoint, was training. His troops were far better trained, particularly in fighting as a group, covering for each other, than the Aurors. He suspected that even Potter's student army was better prepared to fight trolls and inferi than the ministry Aurors were.

He wondered if there was more to it than that, though. Just then, confirming his suspicion, Patrick Troy entered the room carrying some parchments.

"We've been plotting the casualties on a map of Hogsmeade," his second in command announced. "The worst Auror losses were in the area of Honeydukes, which is where Potter's closest friends were fighting, and where Malfoy was killed. We've also managed to get statements from two badly injured survivors. They both claimed they suddenly went numb while they were fighting trolls, and it left them helpless to defend themselves."

Viktor nodded. "So it looks like Malfoy was biding his time, staying hidden for some reason, and was able to intervene at critical times. Good. That sounds better than the reason I came up with for why they fared so badly."

Troy agreed. "My guess is the reason he was staying hidden was to try to get to Potter's best friends. But I don't think that needs to go into the official report."

They were interrupted before they could conclude their discussion by the sudden appearance of Dobby.

"Master Krum! You must come right away. There is being trouble at Hogwarts."

Viktor was on his feet in a flash. "What is it Dobby? Another attack?"

"No sir," Dobby wailed, anxiously wringing his hands. "They is trying to take away Harry Potter sir."

-----

Things were about to turn ugly at Hogwarts. Ron and Luna had finished talking with the reporters, and were accepting congratulations from some students when a group of ministry officials with an Auror detachment stormed up the path from Hogsmeade and demanded to be taken to Harry Potter. In no uncertain terms they let it be known that a school infirmary was no place for the hero of the wizarding world. He should be in St. Mungo's, in the most expensive and luxurious quarters they had available, and they had come to move him.

At first Ron attempted to reason with them that Harry would prefer to remain at Hogwarts, where his friends were (Ron was especially certain that he wouldn't want to be separated from Hermione), but to no avail. These were midlevel bureaucrats puffed up with their own self-importance, who thought they had discovered a way to advance their careers, and nothing would dissuade them.

At that point Luna had pulled him aside and motioned to her DA coin, then stepped up to greet the intruders. Ron figured out what she was trying to do and activated the coin while hurrying toward the Hospital Wing as Luna delayed the Ministry officials. Hermione had modified the charm on the coin so that she, Harry, or Ron could summon the elite DA members to themselves, wherever they were located. Ron smiled to himself as he heard Luna inquiring of the officials about their journey to the castle and whether they had successfully avoided all manner of bizarre and little known creatures and other hazards. He knew that she would have them completely confused by the time she was finished.

When the dazed group from the Ministry arrived at the Hospital Wing with Luna, who had kept up a nonstop commentary on a bewildering array of topics, they found about a dozen very determined young wizards and witches waiting for them. Luna simply smiled at her companions and thanked them for their attention, then walked over and stood next to Ron and drew her wand.

"What do you children think you're doing?" demanded the lead Ministry official, who reminded Ron very much of Percy. "We are here on important Ministry business. Now stand aside."

"Nobody's taking Harry anywhere," answered Ron, as he felt the others draw up behind him in support. "This is where he belongs and this is where he's going to stay."

"Nonsense," responded the arrogant official, as Ron wished desperately that some teachers would show up soon. "Harry Potter is going to receive the best medical care available. He deserves better than a school nurse." Unbeknownst to Ron, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout were off visiting the parents of the slain students, and the other teachers were occupied with trying to keep the excited students under control. Madame Pomfrey emerged from the infirmary door behind him just in time to hear herself being insulted.

"Excuse me," she interjected. "I have treated Mr. Potter and his friends for seven years now, for more different injuries and illnesses than you can possibly imagine. I assure you …"

"That's enough," shouted another official, trying to assert his own authority. "We are not here to debate this. We are going to be taking Mr. Potter whether you like it or not. Now step aside."

"Over our dead bodies," called out Ernie McMillan, and several of the other students nodded. Ron grimaced. This had been a really long day. The thought that less than eight hours ago he had helped Harry kill Lord Voldemort only to now face death from a group of Ministry Aurors was just too bizarre to contemplate.

It was into this tense standoff that Viktor Krum suddenly popped into existence holding onto Dobby, who immediately disappeared and reappeared moments later with Patrick Troy. To the shock of the Ministry officials, Krum and Troy immediately sided with the students. No matter. They were on a mission and were not going to be thwarted by a couple of foreigners and a bunch of students. Losing any patience they had, they ordered their Aurors to disarm the troublemakers by any means necessary.

But the Aurors hesitated, looking nervously at each other. Krum and Troy were living legends among the Auror Corps. They all knew very well that these two and the strike force they led had been fighting Death Eaters, vampires, giants, and whatnot for half a year, and in doing so had spared the lives of many Aurors who would otherwise have had to deal with the deadly threats. They were under no illusions as to how well they would have fared at those tasks, since rumors of the fate of the Auror detachments at Hogsmeade had spread rapidly.

"There's no way I'm crossing wands with Viktor Krum and Patrick Troy," the Auror leader announced after a strained silence, as he crossed over and took up a position next to the pair. "If these folks want Potter here that bad he can stay here." The rest of the Aurors followed, and none of the threats of possible repercussions or disciplinary actions by the blustering Ministry officials could sway them. Furious, the humiliated bureaucrats stalked away, vowing retribution.

The students then cheered and congratulated each other and gratefully thanked the two quidditch stars, while keeping a respectful distance. Ron filled them in on the drama, particularly noting Luna's brilliant delaying tactics. Viktor turned to congratulate her, realizing that this was yet another impressive performance by the blonde Ravenclaw.

"Thank you Viktor Krum," she smiled at him. Viktor regarded her thoughtfully, gradually becoming aware that there was more to this mysterious girl than met the eye.

-----

The next day brought a mixed bag of news.

Remus and Neville remained in comas. Dean's injuries were now healed, but it was uncertain if he would ever walk again. For spinal cord injuries, wizarding healers were nearly as helpless as muggle doctors. Only time would tell. Ginny noticed Lavender's engagement ring, and soon girls all over the castle were crying over the bittersweet story of how Lavender and Dean's romantic engagement was immediately disrupted by the attack that left him paralyzed. Lavender had still not told anyone else her other news, although Madame Pomfrey was aware of it. To her credit, she never once considered changing her mind about either marrying Dean or having the baby, despite the difficulties that loomed ahead for them.

Since she had healed him to the best of her abilities, Madame Pomfrey released Dean from the infirmary. Flitwick had created a wizarding version of a wheelchair for him, one that floated instead of rolled, and was loaded with amenities, so that Dean could get around in relative comfort. There was enough room on the chair that Lavender decided to ride back to Gryffindor tower on his lap. As she shifted around to get comfortable, her face lit up with a smile as she noticed to her delight that not everything below Dean's waist was paralyzed. The smile quickly spread to Dean's face as well, and he tightened his arms around her, pulling her into a hug as the now much happier couple set off back to their common room, where Lavender intended to determine if the floating chair could bypass the enchanted stairs to the girls' dorms.

During the commotion of their departure from the hospital wing Harry regained consciousness. Of course, the first thing he needed to know was if Hermione and Ron were all right. Ginny came back into the room to find him struggling to get up to find them, which due to his weakened state almost made him pass out again.

"Harry, lay back down," she called out to him, rushing to his bedside and throwing her arms around him. "You're not fully recovered yet." He had to agree that she was right and allowed her to maneuver him back into the bed.

Harry looked up at her, relief flooding through him at the realization that she appeared to have made it through the battle unscathed. "Ginny! You're OK!" He hugged her fiercely for a moment, losing himself temporarily to the feeling of her in his arms. It had been so long since he had held her like this. Then his original concern reasserted itself and he pulled back a bit without releasing her.

"What about Ron and Hermione?"

"Ron's fine. He was up and around right away. Wait until we tell you what he did to those Ministry hacks …" She stopped as she saw the anxious expression on his face as his eyes darted around the infirmary. "Hermione's right over there," she said, stepping back and directing him in the right direction. "She's still unconscious. Her injuries have been healed but …" she hesitated.

"What! What's wrong with her?" Harry's voice was frantic.

Ginny looked around worriedly as her voice dropped. "I heard Madame Pomfrey say that she was magically exhausted like you were, but hers is worse." She felt her eyes watering as she saw the anguished concern etched on his face and she took his hands in hers. "Harry, they said she lost her magic completely. They don't know how, but her magic's gone."

Harry slumped back into his pillow, devastated. He remembered now what had happened. She had transferred all her magic to him through the necklace and the ring at the critical point in the battle. He covered his face with his hands as guilt overtook him. _Oh my God! Hermione, what have you done?_

Ginny stroked his arm, aware that Harry would blame himself for this, and tried to find words of comfort for him. Finally he pulled himself together and asked her how everyone else was. Hesitantly she told him of the three deaths in the DA, and the serious injuries of Dean and Remus. Then she broke into sobs as her own feeling of guilt overtook her as she tried to tell him what happened to Neville.

"Neville … he stepped in front of Malfoy's curse for me … and now he's … they don't know if he'll make it." Harry reached up and pulled the distraught young witch down to himself, comforting her as she had just done for him and they both fell silent, each burdened with the self-imposed responsibility for the plight of a loved one.

Madame Pomfrey entered to find the two students entwined together and raised an eyebrow. Earlier Miss Weasley had been similarly wrapped up with Mr. Longbottom, whom she was supposedly dating. Now she also appeared to be equally close to Mr. Potter. The nurse wondered briefly which wizard actually held her heart. But she quickly shook that thought off as her professionalism asserted itself.

"Mr. Potter. It's so good to see you awake." Ginny pulled back to let Harry be examined. Pomfrey gave him some potions and told him he would probably only need to stay in the Hospital Wing one more night. When Harry asked her about Hermione she hesitated, then decided that if anyone deserved to know the details about her condition, it would be him. Ginny excused herself, knowing that the nurse would be more apt to tell Harry what he wanted to know if she was not present, and left to find Ron and let him know that Harry was awake.

After hearing Pomfrey confirm Ginny's information, including the fact that she was unable to treat Hermione's condition, Harry asked that Hermione's bed be moved next to his. Although this was somewhat irregular, the nurse complied (this _was_ the Savior of the Wizarding World Harry Potter after all) and Harry reached over and took Hermione's hand, wishing there was something he could do. Just as he began to descend once more into unbearable guilt, Ron arrived and forcibly pulled him back.

"Hey mate!" he called out, engulfing Harry in a bear hug, "you're finally awake. Now you can help me deal with all these nutters." Harry grinned at his best friend, knowing that he was in fact thrilled to be in the limelight for a change. Ron and Ginny then sat down on the other side of Harry's bed and caught him up on everything that had happened at the battle in Hogsmeade and since. Scrimgeour had stopped by that morning and apologized for the Ministry intrusion the previous day and assured them that it had not been authorized by him. He had assigned some Aurors headed by Kingsley to assist them in fending off any other unwelcome visitors, and promised to return when Harry awakened. Viktor and Luna were now dealing with the ever-expanding press corps, and Harry reluctantly realized that he would need to make a statement soon.

-----

As the day went on Harry had more visitors. First Viktor came in and confirmed with Harry the details of the interview he had arranged for later, then his friends from the elite DA were admitted. Harry profusely expressed his appreciation for all they had done, especially singling out those who had been killed or injured. Each member individually approached him for a few private words, and to his chagrin Harry got a hug and kiss from every one of the females. Of course Colin had brought along his camera, and the witches all insisted that he take pictures of their individual congratulations so they could show them to their children and grandchildren. The wizards likewise had photos taken of Harry shaking hands with them.

Scrimgeour arrived and indicated that he needed a private word with Harry and Viktor, so the students departed, but not before one of them remembered to tell him that classes had been canceled for the week. Ron and Harry shared quick grins, both of them thinking that it was a good thing Hermione wasn't awake to hear _that_ as they recalled her dismay at a similar announcement several years earlier.

Ginny and Ron waited patiently while Scrimgeour quickly filled Viktor and Harry in on what he had been working on so feverishly the preceding day. The two younger wizards eventually nodded their agreement and the Minister of Magic departed. Viktor then brought up the topic of honors and awards. At first Harry wanted nothing to do with them, but when Viktor pointed out that his friends that had fought so bravely deserved acknowledgement, and that they couldn't be honored if he were not, he gave in, and they began discussing the various Orders of Merlin.

-----

The interview that afternoon didn't go as badly as Harry had feared. Rita Skeeter, Luna's father, a representative from the Daily Prophet and one from Witch Weekly, along with a reporter chosen to represent wizarding papers in other countries were the only ones admitted to the Hospital Wing. Viktor and McGonagall had informed Harry that there were now three separate layers of security (with the last being a rotating series of DA members standing watch just outside the room) keeping life in the castle as normal as possible.

McGonagall, Flitwick, Pomfrey, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Viktor, and Troy were also present for the interview, and Tonks and Augusta Longbottom were in the infirmary as well watching out for Remus and Neville. Given that the reporters were vastly outnumbered, and Mr. Lovegood and Rita Skeeter were on his side to begin with, the press conference proceeded smoothly.

Ginny, Luna, Viktor, and Troy described the attack on Hogsmeade and the tactics used on the trolls and inferi. Viktor made it clear that every known Death Eater was now dead or in custody and Troy praised the bravery and coolness under fire of the students during the battle. McGonagall declined to release any names of dead or injured students, but said that she was very thankful that the losses had been no worse than they were.

Harry and Ron described the tactics the trio had used against Voldemort, both of them emphasizing the teamwork they had used to overcome him. Had Hermione been awake, she would have been extremely embarrassed at the amount of praise they heaped on her for her ability to counter and block Voldemort's spells. They left out the part about the transfer of magic and the handgun, but Ron took delight in describing Harry's final thrust of the Sword of Gryffindor into Voldemort's brain and the resulting blast of noise, light, and magic that erupted upon his final destruction. Viktor then added that he and Troy had visited the site and confirmed the dark lord's death, and shared the photos they had taken with them all.

The reporters were extremely polite, without the demanding questions and accusations that Harry was accustomed to in his previous dealings with the wizarding press. Once the press conference was out of the way, Harry was able to relax and have a pleasant dinner with his friends, tempered only by his constant concern with Hermione's fate.

-----

The best episode of the day was when Remus finally regained consciousness. One of Slughorn's protégés who worked at St. Mungo's had been doing research into using muggle methods in magical treatments for illnesses. When Slughorn found out that Remus was stricken with silver poisoning, he contacted her immediately. Dropping the name 'Harry Potter' worked magic. No one in Britain was going to resist _that_ sort of summons now. Despite his distaste for the Potions Master, Harry had to admit that building up a network of contacts like Slughorn had was certainly valuable.

This particular witch's specific interest was in substances that would remove poisons from the bloodstream. Based on the muggle technique of chelation therapy, she came up with the idea of inserting an enchanted substance into Remus's bloodstream that would seek out and neutralize the silver particles that were slowly killing him. Six hours after the potion had been injected the last bit of silver had been eliminated and Remus healed quickly thereafter. By evening he was ready to be released.

-----

By nightfall the celebration over Remus's recovery had died down and everyone left the infirmary. Only Harry, Hermione, and Neville remained. After sitting and thinking for a while, Harry sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. Gingerly, not wanting to pass out again, he got up and carefully padded over to Neville's bed. As he stood gazing down at his loyal friend, he reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze and vowed never to take Neville for granted again. Then he turned and made his way back to Hermione's bed.

There he sat on the edge of her bed and found his thoughts going back to his second year when she had lain here after being petrified by the basilisk. The same feeling of helplessness that he had felt then engulfed him now. How often had their roles been reversed, with Hermione sitting by his bedside waiting for him to awaken from one of his injuries? There had been nothing he could do back in second year but hold her hand and hope that Madame Pomfrey would be able to mix up a draught to bring her out of her trance. But this time there was nothing the talented healer could do for her. He knew it was selfish of him, but he found himself thinking that he wouldn't care if she never got her magic back; it would be enough if she regained her health.

Pulling back the sheets and blankets, he climbed into the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her as his eyes began to well up with tears. _Please come back to me Hermione. I need you in my life. I need you to help me with all the things that are happening to me. I don't think I can go on without you. _

_I love you, Hermione._

An hour later, the matronly nurse looked out into the infirmary on one of her nightly checks of her patients. She stood watching the two head students snuggled up together in one bed for a while, then turned back into her office, a tear slowly tracking its way down her cheek.

---------------


	19. Recovery and Renewal

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

Thanks to Old Crow and Dee for prereading this chapter, and for their helpful suggestions. 

---------------

**Chapter 19, Recovery and Renewal**

On Monday morning the wizarding world's attention was drawn away from Harry Potter for a time when the 'special project' Scrimgeour had been working on was revealed. In a wide-ranging strike he conducted a purge of the Voldemort supporters and sympathizers in the Ministry of Magic. Dozens of witches and wizards in a multitude of positions and levels of authority were either arrested or summarily dismissed, depending on the severity of their betrayals. Now that Voldemort was gone, and his top Death Eaters all dead or in prison, Scrimgeour was emboldened enough to act without fear of retribution. As the details gradually came out, it was revealed that Percy Weasley had spearheaded the investigation, which had been initiated shortly after Harry and Viktor's momentous meeting with Scrimgeour back in July. When Umbridge's crimes were brought to light, Scrimgeour and Percy had realized that many of Fudge's appointments had likely been influenced by Lucius Malfoy, and determined that it was necessary to clean house.

Percy's single minded devotion to the task and his meticulous attention to detail had been invaluable in the long, painstaking process. But he had paid a personal price for this assignment. He had finally realized, after hearing all that Harry and Viktor had to say, that he had been dead wrong in his support for the previous administration. He was deeply ashamed that his eagerness for advancement in the ministry had blinded him to what was actually happening, and had estranged him from his family. And then, in order to avoid compromising his investigation, he had to maintain his aloof attitude and keep up the appearance of still being a self-serving Ministry hack.

The wizarding public was stunned at the extent of the corruption. Scrimgeour had managed to reassign some of the dark supporters who were in the more dangerous positions, moving them to places where they would do less damage, but he could not make too many moves for fear of tipping off the investigation too soon. The most egregious revelation, in many minds, was the subversion of the floo network. The attack on the Weasly twins' shop, as well as other assaults on individual homes, had been accompanied by the temporary shutdown of their floo access in order to close that escape route. Many of Voldemort and his Death Eaters' victims over the years had died while trying to flee through an inoperable floo connection.

Recent Hogwarts graduates and their parents were also outraged by the discovery that OWL and NEWT scores had been tampered with in order to lower the scores of muggleborns and raise those of purebloods. The damage went both ways. It was quite some time before pureblood students like Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass, and even Lavender Brown and the Patils to a lesser extent, recovered from the suspicion that became attached to any of their past accomplishments.

-----

Once the furor over the Ministry of Magic purge died down, attention turned to the awarding of medals to those who played parts in bringing down the dark lord. Over the next few days the decision on the candidates for the Orders of Merlin would be the subject of some intense negotiations with the Ministry. Their first proposal was to give Harry an Order of Merlin, 1st class, Ron and Hermione Orders of Merlin, 2nd class, and the students who had fought at Hogsmeade Orders of Merlin, 3rd class. Harry insisted that Ron and Hermione also receive the highest honor.

This was finally resolved when the Ministry agreed to give all three of them the Order of Merlin, 1st class, but insisted on adding the term 'with highest distinction' to Harry's award. Then it was agreed that Viktor, as well as Ginny, Neville, and Luna, would receive the Order of Merlin, 2nd class. The latter ones were because those three students had been involved in the heaviest fighting at Hogsmeade, and in belated recognition of the Department of Mysteries battle two years previously. The rest of the DA, the Order of the Phoenix members who fought, and the members of Viktor's strike force would receive the Order of Merlin, 3rd class.

The real sticking point came when Harry stated that Hagrid, Grawp, and Dobby also deserved Orders of Merlin, and suggested that Ragnok did as well. This idea was met by the Ministry official with whom he was meeting sputtering that such a thing was unheard of. Other magical beings were not even considered for Orders of Merlin. These honors were for wizards after all, not inferior creatures. The discussion ended rather abruptly when this particular Ministry official went flying out of the infirmary where the meeting was taking place as the result of a particularly powerful banishing charm. It took Ron and Ginny several minutes to force an irate Harry back into bed, partly because they were laughing so hard at the look on the pompous official's face as he went sailing through the door.

The Ministry began to take the suggestion more seriously when they discovered that the Hogwarts professors agreed with Harry. Then Viktor added his endorsement, particularly for Dobby, whose recruitment of the house elves for both their intelligence gathering and for their assistance with the strike teams had been one of the key turning points in the campaign. At this point Scrimgeour stepped in and overruled the Ministry officials who were resisting. Harry Potter and Viktor Krum had more political capital than any other wizard in the world right now, and it would be professional suicide to stand against them if they were together on this. Grawp would receive a posthumous Order of Merlin, 3rd class, Hagrid would be included with the student defenders of Hogwarts in their awards, and Dobby would stand with Viktor's strike team when the medals were awarded. Ragnok, who had political concerns of his own to deal with, respectfully declined his award, much to the relief of the Ministry.

-----

Much to Madame Pomfrey's amusement, Harry declined to be released from the Hospital Wing on Monday. The student who had always been so eager to leave his hospital bed before she was ready to release him now desired only to remain with his closest friend. Hermione had not yet regained consciousness, and Harry wanted to be there when she did. And so that day ended much like the previous one, and the school nurse noted once again that night that the two head students shared a single bed.

-----

Tuesday, February 17

Hermione gradually felt herself waking up, but noticed several things that were different than normal. Her body seemed to be quite stiff, as though she had been lying in bed too long. She also felt very weak, and she ached all over. As she did every morning when she awoke, she reached out to try to sense Harry. Nothing. She couldn't feel him anywhere. A niggling worry began in the back of her mind and started to grow, eventually blossoming into full blown panic as her consciousness began recalling the details of what had happened to her before she fell asleep. They had been fighting Voldemort. Now she could no longer sense Harry's mind. _Was Harry dead?_

"Harry!" she tried to shout out, but her voice was not up to it yet and all that came out was a moan. Concurrently, she tried to roll over and sit up, only to be frustrated by a weight on her side that was restraining her movements. Her rising panic fueled an adrenaline rush that started her heart racing as she struggled to escape her bonds_. Why wouldn't her eyes open properly so she could see what was holding her down?_

"Hermione! Are you awake?" In an instant she identified that voice and she stopped struggling. _It was Harry! He was alive!_ Now she also recognized the familiar feel of his arm around her and realized that he was behind her in her bed, so she snuggled happily back into him_. Harry was alive. They had defeated Voldemort. Life was wonderful._

_So why couldn't she sense him?_

"Hermione, can you hear me?" Another moan was all she could manage. "OK, don't try to talk. Don't try to open your eyes yet either. It takes a while to wake up when you've been out for a while, and it's easier if you don't try to do everything at once. Trust me, I have more experience with this than you do." Hermione smiled at that. What she didn't know was that Madame Pomfrey had told Harry what to expect when Hermione regained consciousness, and that this was much more serious than any of _his_ past episodes. In addition to losing her magic, significant parts of Hermione's nervous system had shut down, and it would be best to not tax her senses too much as she awakened.

"Can you feel this?" Harry moved the arm that he had been holding her with and ran his finger down her arm to her hand and back. Hermione smiled again and tried to reach out and squeeze his hand, only to find that her movements were still sluggish.

"Don't try to move too much either. When I woke up I tried to sit up and almost passed out again." Harry returned his arm to what she considered to be its proper place around her waist and Hermione decided that she could accept that for now.

"I'm going to go get Madame Pomfrey now, OK?" Harry released her and began to move away, ending the contact that she was so enjoying. Another moan let him know what she thought of _that_ idea.

"All right," he chuckled. "I guess that can wait for a while. It's pretty early and she's probably not up yet anyway." He pulled her back into an embrace and the smile returned to her face, accompanied by a contented _'Mmm'_.

Harry began to stroke her arms and shoulders and anything else he could reach while talking softly to her, filling her in on some of the things that had happened the last few days. Hermione was amazed to hear that she had been unconscious for three days. Harry wasn't surprised when she fell back asleep shortly thereafter; that had often happened to him in his past visits to the Hospital Wing. When he was sure she was sound asleep, he gently disengaged himself and crept out to inform Madame Pomfrey.

When Hermione next awoke, it was to a sea of concerned faces. To her disappointment, Harry was no wrapped around her, but at least he was sitting next to her holding her hand. And this time, to her relief, she could open her eyes and see everyone. She still felt ridiculously weak though. After some quick hugs and 'welcome backs' everyone left the room except Harry, Pomfrey, and McGonagall and she realized that there was something serious that was about to be discussed.

To Harry's mind, Hermione took the news of her condition with surprising equanimity. He knew very well how discovering her identity as a witch had been a life altering experience for her, just as finding out he was a wizard had been for him. It was only after the two older witches left that she allowed her composure to slip. But even then, the first regret she expressed was the loss of their magical connection. She told him of her panic at awakening and not being able to sense his presence. He suspected, correctly, that she was putting up a brave front for him, not wanting him to feel guilty about what she had done. Down inside the prospect of no longer having her magic terrified her.

Finally, he was able to get her to open up and talk about it, and then her emotions hit full force. For the next two hours he held her and reassured her while she first cried herself out, then gradually relaxed as she shared her fears with him. No, he would not abandon her if she couldn't do magic. Yes, she would still be a big part of his life. He pointed out that they had already demonstrated that the two of them could get along quite nicely in a muggle environment. He carefully commiserated with her about the things she would no longer be able to do, trying to walk the tightrope between being overly condescending or being too insensitive. Even though she felt he slipped a few times too far one way or the other, she appreciated the effort he was making and made sure to let him know. Eventually, she was worn out from the emotionally draining experience and drifted off to sleep again.

-----

"Wingardium Leviosa." Nothing. Just like the last forty tries, the book stayed on the bedside table. Hermione Granger had rarely encountered a challenge that she couldn't overcome by her determination to keep working at it until she succeeded, but this one looked like it was going to defeat her. Then the door of the infirmary opened and three crying girls rushed in. Once Hermione heard what they had to say she was moved to tears also.

The Hogwarts gossip network was working at its usual high efficiency, and the story about Hermione losing her magic had spread like wildfire. Many of the students were heartsick at the news, since Hermione had become one of the most popular Head Girls since Lily Evans. She had particularly gone out of her way to befriend and help out the younger students, and there were quite a few tears from the lower years. The three muggleborn first year girls had come up to the Hospital Wing to make an incredibly selfless offer. If Hermione could find a spell to do it, they would give her their magic. And they were all convinced that Hermione could do anything.

The three girls reported that as many as twenty or thirty of the students had suggested doing this, but the three of them persuaded the others that they should be the ones to make the sacrifice. As Carolyn pointed out with her usual logical delivery, they were the ones who would miss it the least, and they could go back to being muggles more easily than anyone else in the wizarding world. Kristin interrupted to add that she and Laura thought it should be one of them because they, like Hermione, were Gryffindors but that Carolyn thought it should be her because all of her professors kept telling her how much she was like Hermione.

Hermione hugged them all and told them that although she greatly appreciated the offer, she couldn't possibly accept it. Harry also gave them each a hug before they left and mentioned how proud he was to know students who were as selfless as they were.

-----

The news about Hermione was not received everywhere in quite the same manner. In the office of the Ministry of Magic that was in charge of reviewing and making recommendations for the Orders of Merlin, where they were still smarting over being overruled about the awards for Dobby and Grawp, officials immediately dashed off a memo. Orders of Merlin were never given to muggles. Period. Since Hermione Granger was now a muggle, she was no longer eligible for the honor, and would _not_ be awarded the Order of Merlin or any other medal. As far as they were concerned, she could leave the wizarding world and go back to her muggle home and forget all about magic and awards.

Scrimgeour knew that he was in a bind. He was well aware of how fond both Potter and Krum were of the muggleborn witch – former witch actually – and he was certain that his political career would end from their reaction to this, but on this one his hands were tied. The law was the law.

When the news of this decision reached Hogwarts, there was an explosion of outraged indignation. The school owlry was swept clean as students of all years and from all four houses sent messages to their friends, families, whoever they could think of with a common demand: _Do Something!_ Eventually some of the older muggleborn students, who had grown up watching protest demonstrations on television, hatched a plan for the student body to storm the Ministry of Magic in protest. Their professors, who themselves were equally incensed at the decision, were delighted with the students' initiative and proud at how they were rallying around the Head Girl and made no attempt to stop them.

This idea quickly spread and soon the press caught wind of it. Since both the Daily Prophet and Wizarding Wireless Network were still in the 'Say anything that will get us in good with Harry Potter' mode, their coverage was entirely in favor of the protestors. The fury gradually built up to a tidal wave of ire that would soon swamp the Ministry. The students and their families poured into the building with their automatically generated badges that recorded the purpose of their visit simply as 'Protest'. They were soon joined by a host of muggleborn and mixed blood wizards and witches who had heard about the protest on the WWN, and who had chafed for too long under the arrogant superiority of the purebloods and their discriminatory laws. When nearly the entire Auror Corps refused to take any action to prevent the protestors from overrunning the Ministry building, and instead joined in on the side of the demonstrators, the frantic officials whose contemptuous attitude had precipitated the crisis met in an emergency session.

Finally, when it seemed as though the Ministry atrium would burst from the pressure of the irate mob, word came out that a compromise had been reached. Gradually the throng quieted and the Minister of Magic came out on a high balcony to make the announcement. Hermione Granger had been declared to be a squib, not a muggle, and thus would be eligible after all to receive her Order of Merlin. This decision, of course, fooled no one who actually knew Hermione, but it enabled the Ministry to save face and Hermione would receive her award, so the DA leaders quickly persuaded the leaders of the protest to declare victory and go home. And the Ministry of Magic received a lesson in participatory democracy.

-----

Hermione was flabbergasted when she heard what had happened. She had feared that Harry and Ron, and possibly Viktor, would be outraged and had made them promise not to cause any trouble at the Ministry on her behalf. So the three of them had accompanied the students during the protest, but had stayed in the background and watched. Harry had felt his pride in and satisfaction with his fellow students swell inside him as the drama unfolded. His only contribution had been to signal the other DA leaders to accept the Ministry's compromise offer.

Hermione couldn't stop crying at this obvious indication that the bushy-haired know it all that nobody liked was now held in such high esteem by the Hogwarts student body that they would go to all of this trouble for her. Her friends merely grinned at her and kept hugging her as her tears flowed unabated. Finally Madame Pomfrey insisted that the celebrants leave to permit her patient to get some rest, and eventually only Harry and Ron remained by her bedside. It was the first time that the three of them had been alone together since the battle, and the talk turned to that fateful day.

Harry and Hermione both congratulated Ron on fighting off the Imperius curse as well as he had, then Harry teased Ron about being upended by Hermione's tackle. Hermione playfully rubbed her shoulder and made a sarcastic comment about big clumsy friends, and Ron retorted that at least he was still conscious at the end of the battle. Then both of the boys turned serious and spoke in awe of the display of spells that Hermione had put on during her direct dueling with Voldemort. Hermione pointed out that it was Ron's Expeliarmus that saved her and leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek as he blushed. Then Ron asked about the power transfer and Harry and Hermione finally admitted the connection between his ring and her necklace that they had kept secret.

"I can't believe you guys didn't tell me about that," Ron pouted playfully. He knew very well that he had been rather a prat during the previous term and hadn't always deserved their confidence, so he didn't make a big issue about it. "So right when you and Voldemort were both wearing down, she transferred her magic to you and then you were strong enough to beat him?" Harry and Hermione nodded and she reached over and squeezed his hand, hoping he wasn't going to start feeling guilty again. But Ron wasn't finished.

"So, why don't you just switch and reverse it? Have Harry put on the necklace and Hermione the ring and have Harry transfer it back?" Harry and Hermione just stared at each other. Harry opened his mouth once then closed it again. Hermione started several responses but never got past the first word.

"It … But … You …" Finally a hopeful look appeared on her face, but then it disappeared and she frowned. "No," she said with a shaky voice. "I won't risk having Harry lose his magic. If he gave all his magic to me he would be just as bad off as I am right now. It's better for me to be without magic than Harry." Harry's angry response to that declaration was interrupted by a new voice.

"That wouldn't be necessary." The three turned quickly to see Madame Pomfrey approaching. "I'm sorry for listening in, but I couldn't help overhearing. If Mr. Potter has a way of transferring magic to Miss Granger, it would only take a small amount. Then we can use restorative potions and with plenty of rest her magic can renew itself." Harry and Hermione tuned the rest of her words out as their eyes locked, excitement blazing in them. Their hands squeezed together while all three friends shared a single thought. _'Hermione can get her magic back!'_

Just to make sure, McGonagall and Flitwick were consulted about the idea. Once they gave their approval the excited students were eager to try it right away. With trembling hands Hermione removed the necklace that had been around her neck continuously since July and placed it carefully on Harry. Then Harry handed her the ring. To his disappointment, nothing happened when she put it on. He had expected it to flare and that he would feel the sensation in his chest from the necklace that normally accompanied that action, but Hermione reminded him that since she didn't have any magic yet that effect was probably suppressed. Then Flitwick suggested that they recreate their actions during the battle as closely as possible.

Hermione's face flushed as she revealed that she had been hugging him from behind and wanting to do anything she could to help him, but Harry simply shrugged and climbed onto the bed behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Like this?" he asked, and she nodded, still a little embarrassed.

Harry closed his eyes and wished with all his might that he could give Hermione her magic back again. He blanked out everything else in the room as he focused on that single thought. At first, nothing seemed to be happening so he pushed harder, actually making himself a little dizzy. Then he began to feel the stone in the necklace growing cold against his chest, and he was so excited that he pushed even harder. Off in the distance he thought he heard voices calling to him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He shook them off. This was more important. Hermione just had to get her magic back! The stone got colder and he was ecstatic, but he also noticed that he was getting more lightheaded_. Just hold on a little longer_, he told himself.

'_Harry, stop!'_

Harry opened his eyes to find himself back in his own bed. The last thing he remembered was Hermione's voice … but it had been in his head. _Their magical connection was back! That must mean that …_ His eyes flew open and he turned his head excitedly towards Hermione's bed, only to see her gazing back at him, her eyes glistening, but with a bright smile on her face. Seeing the question in his eyes, she nodded happily and her voice sounded in his head once more. _'You big goof. You just don't know when to quit, do you?'_ He grinned sheepishly and gave her a shrug, which only made her smile more.

As proof, Hermione lifted her wand and performed the familiar swish and flick. "Wingardium Leviosa." The book on her bedside table rose and came obediently into her hands. She turned back and grinned at him. "Forty-second time's the charm!"

Harry groaned at the pun but then a questioning look appeared on his face. "Forty-two. Why does that number seem familiar?"

Hermione's grin grew even larger. "It's the answer." Harry's questioning look remained so she gave another hint. "To life, the universe, and everything." Now he remembered the reference to the strange book they had read together during the summer.

Shaking his head at her silliness, but also thrilled at the additional indication from the teasing that she was back to normal, Harry struggled out of his bed and quickly crossed the short distance to hers. Not caring that there were other people in the room, he climbed in with her, taking her into his arms and hugging her for all he was worth. _Hermione was finally well again!_

The news spread even faster through the castle this time. It was dinnertime and the Great Hall was starting to fill up when Ron burst through the doors at a dead run, his mind actually on something other than food.

"Hermione's magic is back!"

A roar went up and students started jumping up and down in the aisles between the long tables, hugging whomever they could reach in their exhilaration. Up at the staff table there wasn't a dry eye in sight as the teachers felt the relief wash over them. They had their favorite student back. Over at the Gryffindor table Ginny raced over to her brother and hugged him, then darted from the hall to the Hospital Wing to celebrate with her best friends.

And back in London, Rufus Scrimgeour breathed a sigh of relief.

-----

Once Hermione was released, only one occupant remained in the infirmary. Neville Longbottom. The damage to his internal organs from the dread purple-hued curse had been so severe that it had been all Madame Pomfrey could do to keep his body functioning. After seeing how well Lupin's treatment had worked she had taken the unheard of step of actually injecting potions into his bloodstream. If she could only get him stabilized she could spend more time repairing the damage. His heart had stopped several times and they had long since lost count of the number of times he had ceased breathing. Flitwick and Slughorn had done wonders in devising, with the consultation of Slughorn's contact at St. Mungo's, magical devices that would detect a loss of heartbeat or breathing and provide a magical pulse of energy to restart it. Neville's liver and kidneys were also only functioning intermittently. It was a race against time to get these critical organs repaired before they atrophied through lack of use.

Now that Hermione had recovered, she, Harry, and Ginny had spent more time with Neville and his gran. Augusta Longbottom seemed resigned to whatever fate awaited him. She spoke with them often about honor and how proud she was of Neville for everything he had done in the war, and how much he was like Frank and Alice. If he came through it and returned to life she would be incredibly joyful, but if not she was prepared to accept it. Her primary concern was that he wouldn't linger, not dead but not really living, like his parents had.

-----

The following weekend saw two major ceremonies. The first was a memorial ceremony for all of the fighters who had died in the final battle. A monument was erected just outside Hogsmeade, near the train station along the road to Hogwarts, with the names of all who had fallen inscribed. On one side were listed the Aurors who had given their lives; the other side contained the names of Moody, Grawp, Corner, Smith, and Zabini, who were also posthumously awarded their Orders of Merlin.

The awards ceremony was held on the quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. Harry had let it be known that he was adamantly opposed to hearing speeches from a lot of self-important politicians. Scrimgeour's price for making this concession was that Harry himself would give an acceptance speech. He was quite aware that such a speech would be the most highly covered event by the wizarding press in decades. They finally agreed that the only other speeches besides Harry's would be given by McGonagall and Scrimgeour.

The pitch had been expanded and additional stands had been erected below the normal ones, plus hundreds of seats that were set out at ground level. In addition to all of the wizards and witches who had managed to obtain an invitation there were two very special muggles in attendance. As soon as Hermione had been released from the hospital, she and Harry had gone out to Hogsmeade to try to call her parents on the cell phones. To her astonishment and delight, the Grangers were already back in England, and she and Harry had immediately apparated to their house to let them see for themselves that the two of them were all right.

Unwilling to part from her parents after only a short visit, the couple stayed the night and then figured out a way for them to come to Hogwarts for the awards ceremony. It was quite interesting to watch the looks on the Grangers' faces as they approached the castle and the notice-me-not charms and the muggle repellent charms kicked in. At first, all that Emma and Dan saw were some old ruins, and then they felt an irresistible compulsion to leave the place and return home to attend to some important business that they had just remembered. Harry and Hermione finally had to stun them to get them past the castle gates. Once on the grounds, the Headmistress cast a charm on them that negated the protective spells for the day.

McGonagall's speech was mercifully short, because Harry was thoroughly embarrassed as she described how he and his friends had grown and developed during their seven years at Hogwarts. From the first time she had seen him fly and immediately put him on the house quidditch team, through a description of how the three of them had fought their way through the traps to the Sorcerer's Stone, Hermione's cleverness and Harry and Ron's bravery in finding the Chamber of Secrets and slaying the basilisk, and on and on up to the way he and Hermione had taken charge as Head Students, she described his accomplishments in glowing terms. She finished her tribute by announcing that the Valentine's dance that had been canceled the day of the final battle would be held the following Saturday. This allowed Harry to pretend that the cheers that followed her remarks were due to the dance, rather than for his accomplishments.

Scrimgeour made the surprisingly frank admission that Harry, with good reason, had distrusted the Ministry, but been fanatically loyal to Dumbledore. He credited Harry with overcoming his aversion to the wizarding government and meeting with him in July, and stated that from this meeting Harry, Viktor, and he had developed the strategy that was ultimately successful in winning the war. Harry thought Scrimgeour made it sound like the politicians had done more than they actually had, but the story wasn't too distorted. He guessed that was as good as you could expect from a politician.

When his own turn came, the audience in front of him and those listening at home on the WWN were in for a surprise. Harry had been extremely nervous about talking like this, and had discussed what he was going to say with Ron and Hermione, especially Hermione. He had spent most of his time since Hermione's recovery working on it with her, and Dan and Emma had helped out also. Dan, who had given some speeches at dentist conventions, had some tips for him about public speaking. While Harry was amused by the suggestion that he visualize everyone in the audience without clothing, he found his thoughts going to Hermione on the beach in Florida whenever he tried it and that wasn't exactly helpful. Finally Hermione and Ron had agreed to stand beside him as he made his address. To help settle his nerves he began on a humorous note.

"Those of you who know me are all aware that I'm not exactly one for speeches. Personally I wanted Hermione to give this speech, but both Ron and Hermione talked me out of it. Hermione said it was my story to tell, and Ron said that if Hermione started talking she would go on all day, and he was worried he would miss supper." Most of the audience reacted with polite laughter, but the students sitting on the award platform and in the audience chuckled heartily. The chuckles turned to full-blown laughter when Hermione reached over and playfully whapped Ron on the back of the head. But then Harry turned serious.

"I want to tell all of you the stories of two boys. Many years ago there was a witch from a family who was poor, but very proud of their pureblood heritage, who lived with her father and brother in a small hut near a muggle village. She found herself attracted to the son of one of the rich muggle families from that village, and she used a love potion to make him fall in love with her. He married her, but as soon as the potion wore off and he found out she was a witch he left her, even though she was pregnant with his son. The witch died in childbirth, leaving the boy to be raised in a muggle orphanage."

"The boy grew up hating the world and everyone in it. He took his hatred out on the children around him, stealing from them and causing them pain whenever he could get away with it. Eventually he discovered that he had some strange powers, but it wasn't until he was visited by Albus Dumbledore that he learned that he was a wizard. He came to Hogwarts and was a brilliant student, eventually becoming Head Boy. But he never lost his hatred of the world."

"The second boy was born to a mother and a father who loved him very much. His mother was a brilliant muggleborn witch and his father was a talented pureblood wizard. But when he was just a year old, his mother and father were murdered and he also became an orphan. He was sent to live with his muggle relatives who hated magic and everything associated with it. So he grew up being despised for what he was, even though he didn't know why he was different. His relatives never told him he was a wizard, so like the first boy he only found out why strange things sometimes happened to him when he turned eleven and he received his letter from Hogwarts. When he got to Hogwarts his life was completely turned around. He finally had friendship and love in his life." At this point Harry paused and reached out to put an arm around first Ron, then Hermione. By this time many of his listeners had figured out that he was talking about himself, but most of them had not made the other connections in the story. "Although it was a struggle for him to adjust, with the help of his friends he also succeeded at Hogwarts and eventually became Head Boy."

"The first boy was named Tom Marvolo Riddle." There were a few gasps from the crowd at this revelation. "The second boy is me. Tom Riddle hated the name his mother had given him, the name of his muggle father, so he changed it." While he was saying this Hermione pulled out her wand and wrote out the flaming letters in the air, just as the sixteen-year-old image of Tom Riddle had done in the Chamber of Secrets. When she finished, Harry nodded to her and with a flick of her wand the letters rearranged to spell out the new name as Harry continued. "He changed it to what would become the most feared name in the wizarding world. Lord Voldemort." As Harry expected, there were shrieks and cries from the audience as the letters rearranged and he spoke the dreaded name aloud, but he was proud that none of them came from the DA members behind him and his other fellow award winners.

"That's right. Lord Voldemort and I had a lot more in common than most of you knew. Both of us of mixed wizarding and muggle blood. Both of us orphans raised in unpleasant circumstances in the muggle world, neither of us knowing we were wizards until we were eleven. Professor Dumbledore thought that it was this similarity that led him to attack me when I was one, and in doing so he inadvertently made us even more alike. That attack also marked us as mortal enemies, neither of whom would be able to live the life he wanted until the other was dead."

"So in one way or another I was forced to battle against Voldemort my whole life. Several more times in recent years he tried to kill me, but ultimately, with the help of all of my friends, but especially these two who have been with me all the way, I was able to destroy him for good." Harry had been briefly interrupted by shouts or cheers several times while he talked so far, but now he had to pause as a roar of approval and thunderous applause filled the stadium.

"Both Tom Riddle and I grew up in the muggle world with hatred. Unfortunately, both of us discovered that the wizarding world has just as much hatred as the muggle world. I have been fighting against that hatred ever since I first discovered it, in whatever form I encountered it. Tom Riddle embraced that hatred, and used it to recruit and control his followers." The crowd had quieted now, not sure where this was going.

"I'm talking about that hatred that manifests itself in the belief that some magic users are better than others because of their heritage. The ridiculous idea that blood status makes someone superior to someone else." Stunned silence now filled the stadium. Harry Potter seemed to be challenging one of the most widely held and sacrosanct beliefs of the wizarding world.

"Tom Riddle's grandfather was obsessed with being a pureblood, and a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin. So much so that he disowned his daughter when she married a muggle. But having a muggle father didn't stop Tom Riddle from being the Heir of Slytherin, or from opening the Chamber of Secrets. Having a muggle father didn't stop him from becoming one of the two most powerful wizards in the world. And having a muggle father didn't stop him from making complete fools of the purebloods who followed him under the misguided notion that his preaching about blood superiority was anything other than a means to advance his own power." This pronouncement was met with a sea of blank stares, and a murmur of disbelief arose and then abated as the idea slowly took hold that Harry might actually be on to something.

"One of my ancestors is Godric Gryffindor. Does having a muggleborn mother make me any less of a descendent of Gryffindor?" Suddenly Harry reached out his hand and the Sword of Gryffindor appeared, suspended in the air before him. In one smooth move he grasped the sword, reversed it, and plunged it into the stage next to him, embedding it so that it stood there quivering slightly, it's bejeweled hilt glistening in the sunlight. This caused another round of gasps from the crowd, along with looks of wonder from most of the assembled throng.

"Standing here before you are three students who are the youngest people in history to be awarded an Order of Merlin, 1st Class. One of us is a muggleborn, one of us is of mixed blood, and one of us is a pureblood. Do you honestly think that makes a difference to any of us? Not once in all of the years we have been friends has our blood status had any effect on how we felt about each other."

"The most talented witch of my entire generation is a muggleborn." Hermione turned bright red at that statement as Ron nodded vigorously in agreement. Harry briefly looked back at the students on the stage behind him and saw similar acknowledgements of assent. He grinned at them and continued, "and I'm sure my classmates would agree that two of the least talented students in our class were purebloods." This generated quite a few smiles and several guffaws. Turning back to his audience he added, "from what I hear from the professors here, I think it's safe to say that my muggleborn mother was one of the most talented witches of her generation."

Harry gestured to the DA members and went on. "Look at this group of students. It's a mixture of muggleborns, mixed bloods, and purebloods. Everyone knows who the muggleborns in the school are, but only because we enter in our first years being woefully ignorant of the wizarding world." Beside him a smile came to Hermione's face as Harry once again had subconsciously identified himself with the muggleborns. "But I can honestly say that I don't even know for sure how many of them are mixed blood and how many are purebloods. It just doesn't make a difference."

Harry paused and looked out at his audience with a challenge in his eyes. "The misguided belief in blood superiority played right into Voldemort's hands. He used that belief and the ignorance of those who held it in his rise to power. And if the wizarding world doesn't learn its lesson and reject that nonsense the next dark lord will do the same thing. A wise man once said, 'Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' That choice is up to you."

"But that's not the only thing that needs to change. Even more pervasive, and just as wrongheaded, is the arrogance that causes us to believe we are superior to every other race of magical beings. This war would not have been won without the help of our other magical allies. Ask any of the members of Viktor Krum's strike teams about the contributions of the house elves. They will be the first to tell you that their assistance saved many lives. And I can personally attest that they are the most loyal creatures that I have had the pleasure to know. We also benefited greatly from our partnership with the goblins of Gringotts. I am well aware of the centuries of distrust between goblins and wizards but know this: I have found Gringotts Bank to be more honorable and trustworthy than any wizard institution I've ever dealt with."

At these words Ragnok, who was sitting on the stage with other dignitaries (an unusual occurrence in its own right) smiled inwardly. He had certainly made the correct decision in supporting Harry Potter. His stature among the goblin leaders would now be assured for generations to come.

Harry had finally come to the conclusion of his speech. "That's the way I see it folks. We have our work cut out for us. But until we as wizards are able to change the way we view each other and other magical beings, the statue of magical brethren at the Ministry of Magic is a lie. And I pledge to you today, that I and those who work with me will spend the rest of our lives trying to make this a reality."

Hermione and Ron were the first to congratulate him, Ron clapping him heartily on the back and Hermione throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. _'That was wonderful!'_ her voice sounded in his mind. _'I'm so proud of you!'_ Then he was engulfed by Ginny and quickly swarmed under by the other students.

To say the reaction to Harry's address was mixed would be a gross understatement. Many of his listeners sat stunned, some angry, some offended, some puzzled, some thoughtful. His friends on the stage, as well as the students in the audience, gave him a standing ovation. Most of the rest responded with polite applause. But it had certainly given everyone something to think about and talk about for quite some time to come.

-----

After the medals had been awarded and the ceremony concluded, and the reporters had finally left him alone, Viktor Krum found himself once more contemplating Luna Lovegood. He was intrigued by the blue-eyed blonde witch with the butterbeer cork necklace who had such an unusual way of looking at the world. In a way, she reminded him of Hermione Granger when he had first met her. Both girls were highly intelligent, tended to be loners, weren't overly concerned with their appearance, and didn't care what other people thought of them. They were pretty much the exact opposite of the fan girls that always swarmed around him. He set his jaw and approached her.

"Excuse me Miss Lovegood." Luna turned around and gave him that mysterious smile again. "Would you perhaps be willing to have me be your escort to the dance that your headmistress just announced?"

Luna's eyes went wide for an instant, but then she quickly brought herself under control. She thought for a moment, then replied. "I'm sorry, Viktor, but I have to decline your offer."

Viktor managed to keep the disappointment from his face. He drew himself up and responded stiffly, "I see. I apologize for the interruption." Before he could turn away Luna reached out her hand to stop him. He looked at her again, but she still had that calm, unreadable expression on her face.

"Perhaps you weren't aware of the rules for this particular dance," she said evenly. "The girls are required to ask the boys." She paused, just long enough for this to sink in, but continued before he could say anything else. "Viktor Krum, would you be willing to go to the Valentine's dance with me?"

A short distance away, three students were watching this developing drama with varying degrees of astonishment. "Krum and Luna?" Ron asked in amazement. "Are you kidding me?"

"I think it's sweet," announced Hermione. "They both deserve to find someone as nice as they are."

"Well," Ginny pointed out. "Rita Skeeter did say that the witch that snagged Viktor would have to be both intelligent and patient. Luna is certainly both of those. Just look at how patient she was while she was waiting for Ron to notice her. Come to think of it though," she smirked at her brother, "that doesn't say much for her intelligence, does it?"

"Hey!"

"Come on, Ronnie," she laughed, tugging on his arm. "Let's go get you something to eat."

-----

Hermione had tired out early so Ginny took her back to the Heads suite while Harry and Ron stayed at the feast, patiently accepting everyone's congratulations and answering questions. Finally McGonagall called a halt to the festivities and ushered all of the visitors from the castle. Harry took Dan and Emma home, graciously accepting their enthusiastic congratulations on what they called his groundbreaking speech. Once back at Hogwarts, Harry dropped Ron off at Gryffindor tower, but decided to stop and visit Neville in the Hospital Wing before returning to his quarters. As usual, he found Augusta Longbottom there and the two talked briefly before they both left for the night. Neville's condition had finally stabilized, but no one knew if they had arrested the deterioration in time. The next few days would tell one way or the other.

Figuring that Hermione had already turned in, Harry started towards his room as soon as he came through the portrait hole. But before he made it to his door he found himself stopped by a wordless _Impedimentia_ jinx. Then another spell manifested itself as he began to be levitated backwards toward the center of the room, coming to rest on the sofa, with a witch on either side of him.

"We need to talk."

---------------

A/N The subplot involving Hermione's loss of magic, leading to the cutting off of her mental link with Harry, followed by a 'jump start' recovery, was inspired by a similar subplot in 'This Means War' by Jeconais (except in that story it was Harry and Ginny). And congratulations to those readers who figured out in advance how they were going to fix it.

I have a little surprise for you next week with the conclusion to the story. Hopefully it will have an ending that is satisfactory for everyone.


	20. Living in Harmony

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

**IMPORTANT – READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER**

For various reasons I have written three different endings to this story. You may choose to read the one you prefer or as many of them as you wish. I have posted them all simultaneously, as separate chapters. They are mostly the same (about 80 percent identical), but each has a different relationship ending. So if you can only tolerate Harry with Hermione, read the first ending (this one). The second one will have Harry marrying Ginny. The third will be a combination. This way the H/Hr shippers (most of you, I think) should be happy, the H/G shippers (primarily my kids) have what they want (pretty much), and there's even a version for the H/Hr/G harem fans.

So, read the one you like and please don't complain about the other two just because you don't like the ship.

---------------

**Chapter 20a, Living in Harmony – (Harry and Hermione)**

Ginny opened her eyes to find herself in a very unfamiliar situation. She wasn't in either her dorm room or the Hospital Wing. She wasn't in a bed. She was wearing someone else's clothing. Someone's arm was around her.

As her thoughts began to sort themselves out, some of these unusual observations resolved themselves. She recognized that she was in the common room of the Heads suite. She was lying on Harry and Hermione's sofa, although it was much larger than it should be. She was wearing only a large tee shirt and a pair of knickers. That wasn't so unusual – she often slept in such attire. But the tee shirt wasn't hers. And the person snuggled up behind her with his arm around her was Harry. All things considered, she thought, this was a very nice situation to wake up in.

The previous night after she had brought Hermione back here, the two girls had sat and talked about the dilemma they found themselves in, and decided it was time to resolve it. When Harry had returned they had literally picked him up and plopped him down on the sofa between them to hash things out. Ginny had begun by apologizing to Harry for the actions that had created the rift between them. She had admitted that those actions had been wrong and she should have known better. It had been a mistake for her to get that intimate in relationships that weren't very serious. The three of them agreed that she had found herself in a situation she couldn't handle, and then because of her poor self-image and her immaturity made decisions that were hard to reverse. She finished by telling Harry that what she regretted the most was the pain that her actions had caused him, and her realization of how much more painful it was when you hurt someone you loved.

For his part Harry apologized to her for reacting the way that he had, and for not talking to her about it to try to work things out. He noted that despite the image that their dating machinations of the previous term had given him, he was quite naive about relationships and had a difficult time dealing with the physical side of them. He admitted to her that he had started to realize that he had romantic feelings for Hermione as well as for Ginny long before that incident, and that it had been unfair to her to use it as an excuse to explore those feelings. Both of them forgave the other, and all three of them agreed that everyone was at fault to some extent.

But, Harry concluded, the bottom line was that he thought he was in love with both of them. And two months later he still didn't know what to do about it. At that point he had put an arm around each girl and they both snuggled up next to him, sitting there pondering their situation well into the night. Eventually they had decided to sleep on it, and Hermione had transfigured the sofa so that they could all stay snuggled up together. Hermione had given Ginny the tee shirt to sleep in, explaining that it was one of Harry's that she had borrowed last summer and never returned, and had remarked with a knowing smile that Ginny would probably find it as comforting to sleep in as she had.

As she was reviewing these events, Ginny's attention was brought back to the present when Harry's hand moved up on her chest. During the night the tee shirt had ridden up past her waist and his hand was touching bare skin. She smiled to herself as she remembered her mum's reaction when Hermione had bought her the nice pairs of knickers for her birthday, assuming that the whole point was to show Harry. Well, as soon as he woke up he was certainly going to get an eyeful of this pair. Those thoughts suddenly vanished when Harry's hand came to rest up against her right breast.

Ginny's heart started pounding. Was he awake? Did he know what he was doing to her? She shuddered as a jolt of pleasure went through her when his thumb began to move back and forth, tracing the curve of the lower part of her breast. Hermione had been right again. The feeling was so much better when it was someone you loved. She moved her hand to cover his, and she felt him shift. He was definitely awake, she decided, and she could feel his excitement as his hips pressed up against her lacy red knickers, even through the shorts he was wearing. She had been waiting for this moment for months. This was her chance. She could move his hand up and take their relationship to the more physical level she had wanted two months ago, and return it to the path it had been on, the path that would make him hers. She loved him. He loved her.

He loved Hermione.

She had been watching him closely the past week. She had seen the way he looked at Hermione and talked about her. And she knew. And she finally understood and now fully experienced what Hermione had been talking about that night last summer after the wedding. _If you truly loved someone, you wanted what was best for him, even if it didn't include you._

She moved his hand away from her breast.

She let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding. And as she did so she felt like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. By moving his hand to less intimate territory she was symbolically renouncing his hold on her heart. She would always love Harry Potter, in the way that you never forget your first love. With him she had learned what love really was. But she needed someone who would love her with his whole heart, unreservedly. And he needed Hermione. She rolled over to face him.

---

Harry's pulse began racing as he became aware of where his hand was. This was the heart of his dilemma. He loved both girls but he felt a level of excitement with Ginny that he hadn't really felt with Hermione, or at least permitted himself to feel. He found himself reacting to Ginny's body pressed up against his own, and his hand responded almost automatically as his thumb began to trace the curve of her breast. This had never happened during any of the times he had shared a bed with Hermione.

Even when he kissed Hermione, the feelings he had could be described as sweet, comfortable, contented. Definitely pleasurable. But only a few times had it been passionate like it used to be when he kissed Ginny. Dan had told him that the exciting, pit of the stomach feeling would come and go. But it seemed to come a lot more often with Ginny than with Hermione.

Harry was surprised when Ginny moved his hand. He was even more surprised when she broke contact and rolled to face him. He was downright astonished at what she said.

"Roll over."

"Huh?"

"You should be doing this with Hermione."

""What?"

"The two of you need to figure out what you really want."

With eyes wide Harry watched as Ginny pulled away and sat up, then rose from the transfigured sofa. She walked over to Hermione's room and paused, turning back before she disappeared inside. "Go ahead."

Puzzled, Harry rolled over to face Hermione and found her awake and gazing back at him. Green eyes locked with brown eyes as their minds met.

'Ginny said …' 

'_I heard.'_

---

Hermione had been aware of the movement next to her, and guessed what was happening. Ginny was finally getting what she wanted. Was this it then? Would Harry get back together with her? Should she leave and give them some privacy? Should she stay and make her own play for him? She and Harry had agreed to hold off on any intimate contact until things sorted themselves out. Was it too late now? Did she even want a more physical relationship with him?

Then, sooner than she expected, Ginny broke her contact with Harry and turned to speak with him, then got up and left the room. Then Harry turned to her and their eyes locked.

'Ginny said …' 

'_I heard.'_

Hermione was wearing her usual sleepwear – a camisole top and pajama bottoms. Harry reached out his hand and slipped it under the bottom of her loose top, resting it on her waist. Slowly, he began to move it up, never breaking eye contact. Their eyes continued to probe each other as a hundred messages passed between them. He paused when his index finger reached the beginning of the swell of one of her breasts, and his thumb entered the valley between them. This was the bright shining line that they had agreed not to cross. At least not until now. Now, he found his pulse racing again, every bit as fast as it had been moments ago. And from where his hand rested, he could feel her heart doing the same, even as their minds could detect each other's growing excitement. He silently asked the question.

'_Yes.'_

The feeling was indescribable as he moved his hand up, touching her intimately for the first time. Her body quivered as the sensation traveled all the way through her, causing a tingling to begin down inside her. Through their mind link this feeling passed to him where it met and reinforced the thrill that he was feeling. Her hand found his bare chest and mirrored what his was doing to her, sending another wave of pleasure pulsing through him. Their lips came together and battled, each trying to devour the other. All the while the passion built up in each of them and through their minds each sensed the feelings in the other, as they joined in a kind of mental feedback loop. This time neither of them held back.

The pressure reached an unbearable level when Harry's fingers closed around Hermione's hardened nipple and she responded with a loud moan. This reaction sent Harry over the edge and his lower body spasmed uncontrollably. When this surge of feeling hit Hermione her back arched, sending her hips into his as her own sensations began to wash over her.

_Hermione!_  
_Harry!_

They each repeated the other's name several more times as the waves continued and gradually subsided. Finally their heart rates settled down and their breathing slowed enough that normal speech once again became possible.

"Wow!"

"Yeah!"

Harry smiled and raised his eyebrows at this unaccustomed lack of eloquence from Hermione. She giggled in response, then teased, "Someone needs a cleaning charm."

-----

Ginny emerged from Hermione's room to find her two best friends locked in an embrace. One look told her everything she needed to know. She had exchanged Harry's tee shirt for a top and pair of sweat pants of Hermione's. She waited until she had their attention and smiled hesitantly at them.

"Could I borrow your invisibility cloak?"

"Sure, why?"

"Because I've realized that there's someone in the Hospital Wing who needs me. Someone who loves me very much." Harry nodded and summoned his cloak. Before she left Ginny turned back once more.

"I love you, Harry, and I always will. But I need someone who'll love only me."

"You're right Ginny and you deserve it. But you know you'll always have a place in my heart."

Then Hermione added, "I love you too, Ginny. Good luck."

Ginny hurried to the Hospital Wing and quietly let herself in, careful not to awaken Madame Pomfrey. She went over to Neville's bed where he still lay unconscious. He loved her, and down inside she knew that if she allowed herself to let go of Harry she could love him too. She leaned over and gave him a tender kiss, then pulled back the covers and climbed in with him. After hugging him for a while, she rolled to her side, pulling him up behind her. She thought briefly about where to put his hand, then smiled to herself and brought it to rest on her waist. Anything else would be up to Neville. She could wait until he was ready.

-----

Back at the Heads suite the two head students couldn't stop smiling at each other. Somewhere along the way Harry's shirt had disappeared and Hermione was happily running her hands up and down his back. But she wanted more. With a salacious gleam in her eye she pulled away and rose to her feet. Giving him a knowing look, she reached for the edge of her camisole top and pulled it off over her head. After that she shrugged off the pajama bottoms so that she was clad only in a tiny aqua colored pair of knickers.

"Now we're even," she announced as she climbed back onto the couch with him, giggling at the dumbstruck expression on his face.

Finally Harry found his voice. "You were right." Hermione tilted her head up questioningly. "It _is_ a lot different in a bedroom than on the beach."

Hermione's smile brightened as she put her arms around him, drawing them both together into intimate contact. "Shut up and kiss me."

---------------

A/N That's all you're going to get for this scene. If you want more, use your imagination or find one of the hundreds of R rated stories on the net. Just remember, in my story Hermione and Harry both feel that sex should wait until marriage. But that doesn't mean that they can't enjoy other stimulating activities together.

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**Ten Years Later**

"… and he took his sword and CUT off the bad wizard's head."

"Cool!"

"Yech!"

Harry smiled at his two children who had been listening attentively to the bedtime story. He ruffled the dark, messy hair of the boy who was grinning happily at the ending of the story, but the little girl had a disgusted look on her face. Then she looked up at him worriedly, her brown eyes boring deeply into his. _Just like her mother,_ he thought contentedly. "Daddy, is the bad wizard gone now?"

"Yes, sweetie, he's all gone. Everything's fine. Go to sleep now."

"Night, Daddy," the two voices chorused.

"Good night, Jamie. Good night, Lily," Harry said as he gave each of them a hug and gave Lily a kiss (knowing that Jamie considered himself to be too big for a kiss).

He sat in the darkness for a long time just looking at the two of them, reveling as he did every night in the feelings that he had been denied growing up. He had a family. He had a real home. Life was just about perfect. Eventually he got up and went into his bedroom, took off his clothes, and crawled into bed, snuggling up to his wife from behind. As he did every night, he appreciated the decision they had made long ago that nightgowns and pajamas were completely unnecessary articles of clothing.

"So, how did you kill him this time?" came a soft voice from the figure curled up in front of him.

"Cut off his head with a sword." Harry responded as his left arm wrapped around her, his hand stroking her swelling belly briefly before coming to rest on her breast, cupping it tenderly.

"Yech!" came the reply, bringing a smile to his face. "Not the sort of thing a pregnant woman wants to hear, you know."

"Funny, that's the same reaction Lily had," Harry replied teasingly, while entwining the fingers of his other hand in her hair. He loved the sensation, and knew that she did too. "Minus the pregnant part, of course."

"Mmm," came the response. "Keep that up and you're forgiven. Throw in a backrub and I'll love you forever."

Harry's hands lovingly massaged her upper back and shoulders, which were all that he could reach in this position, for a while before returning to their original places. He could tell that she was almost asleep now.

"I love you Harry," came the sleepy voice.

"I love you too, Hermione," he returned, hugging her to himself. _Yep, life was just about perfect._

-

**The End (Except for the Epilogue)**

---------------

A/N These endings were conceived months ago, before I even started writing End Game. For lack of a better description, I'm calling this a movie style ending, where the couple finally gets together at the end and then there's a jump forward in time to a final scene where they're married and living happily ever after. While it seems abrupt, remember that the main emphasis of this story has always been the relationship between Harry and Hermione.

When I began writing Soul Searching I had planned to have the story end up with Harry and Ginny married, and with Hermione living with them as a _very_ close friend. But the H/Hr shipper in me (and the insistence of my beta reviewers) kept calling me to put Harry and Hermione together. Later on I came up with the combination idea. Thus the alternate endings. The challenge was to write the story in such a way that each of the endings is at least plausible. My Harry-Hermione bias probably made the first ending the most likely, but I hope I've at least created the possibility of the other endings. I'm sure all my readers will let me know how well I did and/or which endings they liked best.

A problem with this 'jump forward' type of ending is that it is rather unsatisfactory for readers who want to know more details about what happened to everyone else, as well as a bit more about the main characters. So I've also written a long epilogue, which should tie up all the loose ends. The epilogue is nearly identical for all three endings, except of course for the Harry/Hermione/Ginny parts. There is no new information in any one of the three epilogues compared to the others, so each of these endings can be read as a stand-alone finale.

Finally, I've decided to attach the epilogue to this concluding chapter, so you don't have to wait another week to read it. Enjoy!

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**Epilogue – aka, The Rest of the Story**

After the final battle the family members of the most prominent Death Eaters such as Narcissa Malfoy were arrested and tried, with many being sentenced to terms in Azkeban. The loss of so many pureblood families created a power vacuum that was eventually filled by families like the Davis's, Greengrass's, and Zabini's, who had remained neutral during the war.

The Death Eaters that had been captured were tried, and most, like Bellatrix Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov, were executed. Severus Snape was a special case. The only person he had killed was Albus Dumbledore. That alone would have been enough for a death sentence, but he claimed that it was all part of a secret plan known only to him and the Headmaster. Harry testified that Dumbledore was very weak from the potion he had ingested that night, but still very much alive, and that his only instructions were for Harry to take him to Snape. He further noted with indignation that his assumption was that Snape was going to heal the Headmaster, not kill him, and that anyone who thought that Dumbledore would have sacrificed his life to maintain Snape's cover as a spy was insane.

After a long deliberation, the jury sentenced Snape to life imprisonment in Azkeban. There was some macabre speculation among the students on what Snape experienced when confronted with a Dementor. Some thought it was Neville Longbottom blowing up cauldrons. Others suggested it was Hermione Granger answering question after question correctly and Snape being forced to give points to Gryffindor. They finally concluded that it was probably Harry Potter receiving an Order of Merlin. In any case, Severus Snape's stay in Azkeban was not a long one and he died the way he had lived, a lonely, bitter man filled with hate.

-----

As expected, Harry, Ron, and Ginny's team won the Quidditch Cup that spring, the third for each of them. The following year Ginny would go on to win her fourth, tying her brother Charlie's record.

With Ginny's tender loving care, Neville eventually came out of his coma and made a full recovery by the end of the term. Having missed so much class, he decided hold off taking his NEWTs until the following year, taking an apprenticeship with Professor Sprout in the meantime. No one blamed him if it seemed that his decision was influenced by the fact that a certain red haired witch had another year to go at Hogwarts before _she_ graduated.

Charlie survived the attack by Nagini, but never recovered the use of his arm. This ended his career as a dragon handler so he agreed to stay on at Hogwarts to continue helping out in Care of Magical Creatures. After a long talk with McGonagall about teaching, Hagrid admitted that he wasn't that comfortable as a professor and agreed to return to being gamekeeper, and Charlie accepted the teaching position full time. Hagrid, however, was always enthusiastic about making suggestions regarding 'interesting' creatures that could be brought in to show the classes.

Percy was welcomed back to the Weasley family after his long estrangement. It took Molly quite some time to calm herself down after hugging everyone in sight upon his return to the Burrow, particularly when he announced his engagement to Penelope Clearwater on the same visit. His younger brothers, who had been ready to hex him to oblivion the year before, had a lot more respect for him after they discovered the difficult role he had been required to play. The stressful situation had also managed to humanize him a bit more, as he had plenty of time to ponder his mistakes and realize how important his family was to him.

Bill continued on at Gringott's main headquarters, benefiting from his close association with Harry. He would eventually rise to become the equivalent of a vice president, the highest post ever held by a human at the goblin-owned bank, and he became instrumental in the effort to improve wizard-goblin relations. The arrival of Fleur's baby that summer put Molly Weasley over the top with happiness, her recovery from the stress of the war complete. When Bill and Fleur named her Janelle in honor of Hermione's alter ego, Molly got the message and finally accepted the muggleborn witch's inescapable role in Harry's life.

To no one's surprise, Hermione finished at the top of the class in all of her subjects, and scored straight O's in all of her NEWTs, including those for which she had studied independently. She ended up with a total of nine – Ancient Runes, Arithmency, Charms, Defense, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration. Harry finished second to her in Transfiguration and third behind her and Padma in Charms, but didn't take enough courses to be included in the official class ranking. At Hermione's insistence he took the NEWT for Muggle Studies in addition to those in Charms, Defense, and Transfiguration, receiving an E and three O's.

Their actual scores on the NEWTs set several records. Harry received the highest NEWT score for Defense Against the Dark Arts in history. After he achieved a perfect score on the written portion of the exam Professor Tofty, the Ministry examiner giving the NEWT, was so impressed by Harry that he refused to even test him on the practical, awarding him full marks plus 100 bonus points. He reasoned that if producing a patronus was worth one bonus point on an OWL, destroying Lord Voldemort was worth 100 on a NEWT. If not for Harry, Hermione would have had the highest Defense NEWT score in history. During her practical, the examiner foolishly decided to see if he could come up with a dark spell that she didn't know the counter to, and gave her a bonus point for every one she could block. He finally gave up thirty minutes and fifty bonus points later. Needless to say, Harry's record of 300 points on a 200 point exam (not to mention Hermione's mark of 250) was never broken.

Hermione also set the records for the highest scores in Transfiguration and Charms of the century, eclipsing McGonagall's mark set fifty-five years previously in Transfiguration, and Lily Evans's twenty year old Charms record. Albus Dumbledore's marks in those two subjects, set the previous century, remained as the highest overall. As a group, the Defense scores of the class of 1998 were the highest ever at Hogwarts, breaking the record previously set by the class of 1978. This also surprised no one, since more than half of the class were members of the elite DA, and the rest of them were in the advanced group of the regular DA. Ron finished with the third highest Defense score of the year, with a mark that would have been at the top of the class in most any other year.

-----

After graduation Harry treated the elite DA members to a weeklong vacation at one of the properties that the Potter estate owned, in Jamaica, in an expression of his gratitude for everything they had done. It was a secluded resort on the west coast with a dozen small cottages and included a pool and a private beach. Dean was still in a wheelchair so he and Lavender stuck to the pool. In general the rest of the group spent their time on the beach, leaving the couple to have the pool to themselves most days. Dean and Lavender assured the others that this was just fine, and they were glad to have the private time together.

The first thing Hermione did was take the girls into the nearby resort village of Negril to introduce them to the concept of the string bikini. Initially the witches, especially the purebloods, expressed their disbelief that women would permit themselves to be seen in public in garments that were even more revealing than underwear, but they all eventually summoned the courage to try the miniscule swim costumes. A buying frenzy ensued, ending with each of the witches owning at least two. Lavender's pregnancy was starting to show now, but she bravely went along with the rest, which revealed her condition to the DA members who didn't already know. All the girls were excited for her, squealing as they examined her swelling abdomen and chattering about what it was like, how she was feeling, and so forth. For their parts the boys hung back as if she were contagious and looked at Dean as though he had just received a prison sentence, but upon seeing that he was as thrilled about it as Lavender was, they gradually loosened up.

Once the girls got more used to their new swimwear, and began eyeing the other sunbathers on the beach in Negril, Tracey dared Daphne to go even further and wear a thong like the ones that several of the muggle women were sporting. Daphne quickly shot back that she would wear one if Hermione did. Hermione, who had on the magical swimsuit that she had bought in Florida, immediately took the challenge and transformed it into a thong on the spot. As Tracey gave Daphne a triumphant smirk, the gorgeous blonde shrugged in defeat, reminded herself again never to underestimate Hermione Granger, and changed into a thong. To no one's surprise Lavender also took up the challenge, but to everyone's surprise Luna did as well. (Although, in retrospect, they realized that nothing Luna did should surprise them.) Not to be outdone by her two best friends, Ginny also agreed to get one, but would only wear it when Neville was around, and when Ron was _not_. The other five witches decided that the regular string bikinis were revealing enough for them. Either way, there was a group of very appreciative wizards in Jamaica that week.

One morning Lavender, who frequently had to get up early to use the loo, spotted Harry and Hermione out at the pool swimming laps, and was amazed to see Hermione swimming topless. Hermione unabashedly explained to her how much she enjoyed the feeling of swimming and sunning unencumbered in that fashion and encouraged her to try it. She added that some muggle women sunned topless during pregnancy because they thought it helped toughen their breasts for nursing a baby. When Dean later beheld the results of this discussion when he and Lavender were out at the pool by themselves, it reaffirmed his belief that Hermione Granger was the smartest witch in the world.

Hermione being Hermione, she couldn't pass up the chance to learn something about wizards in other countries, so some of the group spent an afternoon visiting the local wizard community. They learned that in Jamaica, the wizards mingled freely with the nonmagical people, posing as members of a local sect called Rastafarians. The dreadlocks worn by these wizards reminded Harry of Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan. Other than that excursion, Harry and Hermione spent all their time sunning on the beach and diving on the reef. Remembering their experience in the Florida Keys, Harry had brought along a large supply of gillyweed for everyone to use in their underwater exploring, and showed them how to use it.

One day when the three of them were skin diving together the two girls decided to reward Harry with a little something different. Hermione, like Viktor Krum had during the second task, performed a partial transfiguration on herself and Ginny, but with much more attractive results than a shark's head. Harry suddenly found himself swimming with two beautiful mermaids. With her flowing red hair and petite figure Ginny looked just like the title character of the Disney movie, but without the sea shell top that was necessary for the movie's G rating. (A/N – Take a look at the statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark to see what a mermaid ought to look like. Hey, it's their story.) Harry felt a twinge of regret as he watched her gliding through the water toward him, but it lasted only until he saw Hermione following her. Hermione's wild untamed hair flowed around her like a lion's mane, and side by side as they now were it was obvious that her figure was curvier than Ginny's. The total effect was enough to take Harry's breath away – or would have if he hadn't eaten gillyweed.

Harry sent Hermione a mental query asking if she was going to give him a tail also, but she returned smugly that she and Ginny preferred him with his legs and bum intact, particularly with the brief swimsuit he was wearing. Deciding to show his gratitude for the girls' efforts, Harry transformed his suit into a thong for the duration of the dive, much to their delight.

For the next hour the three of them glided through the coral canyons, chasing colorful fish in and out of the gently waving purple sea fans and multicolored soft corals. Groups of blue and yellow striped french grunts hovered beneath the sea fans, eyeing them warily. Small damselfish darted in and out of the honeycombed rock, challenging them. A multicolored parrotfish gnawed noisily on a coral outcropping and a large school of midnight blue tangs swept by. A pair of four-eyed butterflies moved along just out of reach, never separating for more than a moment before rejoining. Down under a ledge, a lobster waved its antennae menacingly at them.

Over and over Harry found his attention drawn to the lovely creatures swimming along beside him, and they likewise had a hard time taking their eyes off of him as well. Every so often they caught each other looking and smiled. By the time the hour was up Harry decided that it had been as close to paradise on earth as he could possibly get. Although the three of them didn't repeat the experience that week, they vowed that they and their families would return to this spot again and again throughout their lives. Hermione had one more treat for Harry before they left the island, though, when the two of them snuck away to Bloody Bay, a clothing optional beach just north of Negril's main beach, for some nude sunbathing early one morning before anyone else was about.

During the course of the week the group of students strengthened the ties that would last them for a lifetime. In years to come this would turn out to be one of the most accomplished classes in Hogwarts history, and they all knew that the experiences that they had shared that year had forged unbreakable bonds. While some of them would achieve success in business, some in government, some in sports, and some in academia, they would all be there for each other when needed. Before they returned they all vowed to stay close to each other, and decided that they would get together again like this every five years.

-----

Upon their return, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to share a house in Hogsmeade while they worked out what they were going to do with the rest of their lives. They enjoyed living in the wizarding village, and often had friends stop by to visit during the summer. After some discussion, Harry and Hermione decided to build a permanent residence in that town, splitting their time between there and Potter Mansion. Harry purchased the Shrieking Shack and they built a large sprawling house on the property, with lots of rooms for guests, and the newly named Potter Place became a place for their friends to stay when visiting Hogwarts.

As they were moving their possessions from the house on Turnbull Court to their new house in Hogsmeade, Hermione had the idea, which Harry enthusiastically agreed with, to make Potter Place a mixed muggle and magical house. With the installation of solar panels on the roof and a small windmill that they built in the hills above Hogsmeade they were able to generate enough electricity to power their entertainment system, a computer, and other small appliances. When Ted and Andromeda Tonks saw it they immediately asked if they could bring their Muggle Studies classes for a visit. This turned into an important component of the Muggle Studies curriculum and hundreds of students would benefit over the years by being able to visit the house and see how muggles lived.

Harry and Hermione also decided to keep the tunnel that had connected the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow and in later years would often use it for easy access to the castle. They did put a sealed portal at the end of the tunnel under the tree. Even though, as the years went by, from time to time there were students clever enough to figure out how to sneak down past the Whomping Willow into the tunnel, it was safe to say that none of them would ever break Harry and Hermione's locking charms on the portal.

After the summer ended Ron moved out and found his own place. He was beginning to reap the rewards of his fame, not the least of which was his attractiveness to the opposite sex. Without two housemates, especially his female best friend who didn't always approve of his choices in women, he was better able to enjoy the opportunities that passed his way.

-----

During their last year at Hogwarts, Ginny and Luna shared the Head Girl position, with Colin Creevey becoming Head Boy. When asked why she had broken tradition by naming two head girls, McGonagall pointed out that no previous Hogwarts headmaster had ever had an Order of Merlin recipient available when it came time to select head students, much less three, and she wasn't about to snub any of them.

-----

Once they decided to settle in Hogsmeade, Harry realized that he could help rebuild the town by bringing in some of his friends and aiding them in establishing businesses. The first couple he set up was Dean and Lavender. During his years in Gryffindor Tower Harry had been impressed by Dean's artistic ability and while they were in Jamaica he and Hermione had spent some time by the pool talking with Dean and Lavender about their future. They found that Dean wanted to become a painter so when they returned he offered them the funds to start up a portrait business in Hogsmeade.

Although Dean and Lavender were initially reluctant to accept such a handout, a conversation with Fred and George convinced them that Harry was sincere about investing in his friends. Seeing the twins' success was pretty convincing too. A year later, Harry also helped Colin open a photography shop next door to Dean's portrait studio and the two businesses complemented each other nicely, with a significant portion of Dean's paintings being based on pictures that Colin had taken.

Lavender became a writer for the _Daily Prophet_, specializing in fashion and gossip, although she was always careful to be as accurate as possible. When their son was born in the fall, she and Dean wanted to name him after Harry, but he tried to talk them out of the idea. The fact that nearly half of the boys born in the wizarding world that year were named Harry also helped persuade them. And so it was that in September, 2010 James Harold (Jim) Thomas became the first child of any of the elite DA, the heroes of the war against Voldemort, to enter Hogwarts.

With Harry's assistance Parvati and Padma opened a clothing boutique in Hogsmeade, featuring a mixture of muggle and wizard fashions. Due to the great experience everyone had enjoyed at the Halloween dance, they found an eager customer base of Hogwarts students, and eventually they became successful enough to open a second shop in Diagon Alley. The twins worked well together, with Parvati focusing on sales and Padma keeping the books. When Flitwick retired Padma took over his positions as Charms professor and Head of Ravenclaw House.

Harry also helped to rebuild Diagon Alley by persuading the Gringotts goblins to grant interest free loans to merchants to help them reopen the shops that had been closed. Ragnok realized that far from being a money loser, this move was an investment that would pay off many times over in good will and improved goblin-wizard relations. One of the first establishments to reopen was Olivander's wand shop, and his first item of business was to create a custom made wand for Harry using the final feather Fawkes had given.

-----

Harry gave Grimmauld Place to Remus and Tonks as a wedding present. With their help SPEW (Hermione agreed to drop the embarrassing acronym) became a house elf employment agency providing work for the free house elves who had joined the fight against Voldemort. It was managed by Remus and Ted Tonks and provided a nice income to supplement their Hogwarts salaries. Many wizarding families who had never owned house elves of their own were now able to hire them on a temporary basis for weddings and other special occasions. The ranks of free house elves gradually grew with the addition of the mistreated elves of the executed Death Eaters. When not working, the elves all lived in and maintained Dernhelm Castle. They fixed up the dungeons in the castle, which had housed Death Eater prisoners, making them into comfortable, but secure cells that were then offered free of charge to any werewolf who needed a place to stay during the full moon. With time, and as new generations of wizards and witches were raised being exposed to the radical viewpoints of Harry and Hermione, the status of house elves would inevitably change.

-----

Seamus Finnegan was hired by Fred and George and returned to Ireland, where he opened the first overseas branch of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. As the company continued to grow, more stores opened and Seamus ended up overseeing their entire Irish division. The twins also expanded into France, starting a store near Beauxbaton's run by one of Fleur's cousins. After Viktor assured them that Durmstrang students also had a sense of humor, they got together with a friend of his to set up a shop in Germany. Despite Molly's urging, the twins never married, and played the role of fun-loving bachelor uncles to several generations of Weasley offspring.

As everyone expected, Ernie Macmillan went into politics, joining the Ministry of Magic. In time he became the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation where he was instrumental in helping advance Harry and Hermione's efforts to overcome class, cultural, and racial barriers in wizarding relations. He married his longtime friend Hannah Abbott and their oldest daughter became the second child of the former elite DA members to enter Hogwarts, in the fall of 2011.

Their fellow Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchly went on to get a degree at a muggle university, then replaced Ted and Andromeda Tonks as Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts and became Head of Hufflepuff House. The fourth Hufflepuff of the group, Susan Bones, followed her Aunt Amelia's footsteps and joined the Aurors, like her eventually rising to become the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Tracey Davis also went into politics, not as an employee of the Ministry of Magic, but operating behind the scenes much as Lucius Malfoy had done. Her ability to gather and use information, especially embarrassing information that gave her leverage over other politicians, slowly expanded her influence until she became one of the major power brokers in the government.

Daphne Greengrass and Ron went their separate ways after graduation. It was an amicable breakup, as they mutually agreed that they wanted different things in a long-term relationship. Daphne went through four different husbands in quick succession, accumulating more wealth and influence with each one. Her final marriage was to the publisher of the _Daily Prophet_, and by the age of thirty she was in control of the most influential wizard newspaper in the country. Daphne and Lavender, who rose through the ranks of the paper to become her personal assistant, were able to curb the flagrant lies and other excesses that had characterized the newspaper in the past, and make it into a hard-hitting but responsible publication. Daphne also used this public platform to support her best friend Tracey's political ambitions, and the two of them combined to become a formidable force in wizarding Britain, striking terror in the hearts of corrupt politicians.

Tracey never married, and when Daphne's fourth and final marriage ended with her in sole control of the _Daily Prophet_, the two former roommates moved in together and stayed together for the rest of their lives. While there were always suspicions of just how far their relationship went, they were always discreet and they both had too much power (and had demonstrated a willingness to use it for retribution) for anyone to dare make an issue of it in public. Although Harry didn't always approve of their actions and methods, he always considered them to be his friends and maintained a mutual respect with the Slytherin witches.

With Harry and Viktor's encouragement, Ron entered the quidditch development league, and after several years honing his skills he achieved his lifelong dream and signed with the Chudley Cannons as reserve keeper. After a satisfying career with the Canons he retired and joined the Department of Magical Games and Sports, soon becoming the head of that department, which brought the total of Ministry of Magic department heads for the class of '98 to three.

Ron continued his search for the girl of his dreams, and as one of the most famous heroes of the war had an unlimited number of willing candidates. But it wasn't until four years after graduation that he discovered her, or more accurately rediscovered her. For their fifth anniversary Bill and Fleur invited both of their families to celebrate with them at a villa in the south of France, and there Ron found her. Fleur's sister Gabrielle had just graduated from Beauxbatons, and while the 13 year old Gabrielle had captured Ron's attention at the wedding, when he met the 18 year old version he was totally smitten. She was everything he was looking for, a combination of breathtaking beauty with her long blonde hair and knockout figure, intelligence, loyalty, spirit of adventure, and a wicked sense of humor. By the end of the year they were engaged.

When Ron's brothers tried to tease him about the age difference, the sharp-witted Gabrielle quickly put them in their places by reminding them that Bill and Fleur were even farther apart in age. With a saucy wink at Ron she went on to declare that girls in her family were obviously attracted to mature men, which clearly didn't include Fred and George. After the laughter died down the family conceded that she was definitely deserving of becoming a Weasley. When Ron brought her to the first five-year DA reunion, the part veela was an immediate hit with the boys, but the girls eventually accepted her as well after she made it clear that Ron was the only guy for her. It also didn't hurt that she was equally comfortable discussing fashion with Lavender and Parvati, charms with Hermione and Padma, and politics with Daphne and Tracey.

-----

After taking the summer off for a well-deserved break, and spending time with her parents, Hermione continued her education for several years. She earned a mastery in both Transfiguration and Charms, and continued to help develop the Muggle Studies curriculum at Hogwarts, which due to Harry's and her influence quickly spread to wizarding schools in other countries. She also took some classes at St. Mungo's to further develop her healing skills. But the first thing she did that fall was to return to the muggle university where they had sought out help in destroying the horcruxes to take a chemistry class. There she was astonished to discover that the friendly chem prof she had glimpsed only briefly on her visit the year before was actually the father of Laura, one of the muggleborn students at Hogwarts. That explained, she decided, why Laura was so good at Potions. The girl had been a natural at the difficult subject.

He told her that he had thought he recognized her at the orientation session in Diagon Alley before the previous school year, but since she hadn't said anything he didn't either. During the laboratory sessions of the chemistry course, where they had time to talk one on one, she discovered that they had several interests in common. They both enjoyed science fiction, particularly _The Lord of the Rings_ and _Star Wars_, and he and his wife were very familiar with the area of Jamaica that she had just visited two months previously. The laboratory portion of the class was definitely her favorite part and by the end of the course she concluded that some of the things she learned there had potential applications in Potions.

Viktor persuaded Harry to join him and Troy in forming a touring all star quidditch team. They attended the quidditch world cup matches as spectators the first summer after Harry's graduation (having been given complimentary seats in the top box, of course), where Viktor and Troy formulated the idea and pitched it so some of their fellow quidditch stars. They were easily able to attract talented quidditch players from around the world and traveled across Britain and the rest of Europe playing exhibitions against local teams. Harry and Viktor took turns playing seeker, with whichever one wasn't playing acting as the coach. They had more bookings than they could handle, as they were a guaranteed sellout wherever they played. Eventually they discovered that they could also sell tickets to their practices, to which fans would flock to see the two most famous seekers in the world play against each other.

Viktor continued his courtship of Luna. In the year of Voldemort's defeat Harry and Viktor moved up to numbers one and two on the Witch Weekly list of most eligible bachelors, but it would be the last appearance for either of them. By the following summer Harry was married and Viktor had announced his engagement, to the dismay of hopeful witches throughout Europe. After graduation Luna joined her father at the Quibbler, eventually taking over the paper. Although she moved the paper toward more of a balance of stories, vigorously supporting Harry and Hermione's positions on goblin relations and elf rights, it still breathlessly reported all the latest sightings of fantastical creatures and announced the occasional bizarre conspiracy theory. She never lost the ability to bring the conversation to a halt with an off the wall observation. And Viktor loved her for it. She was the perfect counterpoint to his overly serious nature and he wouldn't have her any other way.

-----

As had been the case for every quidditch match he ever played, the cheering crowds at Harry's matches always included one Hermione Granger. Hermione accompanied Harry to every city he visited, fulfilling the dream he had shared with her when they had lived with each other the summer before seventh year to be able to travel together and see the world. They also managed to find time to take vacations with Dan and Emma, including several to Hermione's favorite beach on the French Riveria. The two continued to be inseparable, and on those occasions when they were apart they would call each other every evening on their mirrors or cell phones to share the day's events. Once the children arrived, Harry spent most of his time at home, apparating to practices and taking portkeys to his matches. When they were old enough, the children delighted in coming to watch their father play.

After a satisfying quidditch career, during which he also played for England in four Quidditch World Cups, Harry accepted the position as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts when Remus retired. Hermione also joined the faculty as the Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor House.

-----

When Ginny graduated she was recruited to play quidditch for the Holyhead Harpies, the all women's team run by Gwenogg Jones. During her career, when she wasn't taking time out to have babies, she made the English World Cup team twice 3 times as an alternate, getting to play in several matches each time. For her eighteenth birthday Neville gave her an engagement ring, and they were married the following year.

When her quidditch career ended she also joined the faculty at Hogwarts, taking Madam Hooch's position as flight instructor. Ginny quickly became one of the most popular teachers in the school, with many of the younger boys developing a crush on the pretty, vivacious witch. One of Ginny's most popular innovations was the institution of an annual faculty-student quidditch match, held the day of the end of year dance. Of course, with Harry Potter as seeker and Ginny Weasley as chaser for the faculty team, the students never came close to winning, but the games were high-scoring, fun affairs every year.

Neville, again with Harry's assistance, had turned his interest in herbology into a business that raised exotic plants and herbs, selling them for potions ingredients and general use. When Sprout retired from Hogwarts he replaced her as Herbology professor.

-----

Harry and Hermione's wedding the summer following the year of their graduation was a complicated matter. They finally decided to have two ceremonies, muggle and wizard. The muggle wedding was at Dan and Emma's church, where Hermione had grown up and still knew many of the parishioners. Ginny was the maid of honor and Ron was the best man, but it was a struggle to keep him acting 'muggle like' throughout the ceremony and reception. The attendees were mostly friends of Hermione's parents, but a few of their muggleborn or mixed blood friends were able to be there as well. The Tonks were there, along with Remus who had a wistful look as he recalled a similar wedding of his best friend. Justin and Susan came together, and Dean brought Lavender, who also struggled with the muggle customs. The Creevy's attended, of course, as well as Laura, Carolyn, and Kristin and their families. Colin took lots of pictures so they could share the day with their other friends. Harold and Rose Evans were able to attend and stand in for Harry's parents during the part of the ceremony where they, along with Dan and Emma, gave the new couple their blessing. That part brought Harry to tears, and his emotions sent Hermione over the edge as well.

They held the wizard wedding at Harry's castle, which the house elves in residence decorated fabulously. It was the wizarding equivalent of the wedding of Charles and Diana. They briefly considered having the entire elite DA as wedding attendants, but decided to scale it down. In addition to her maid of honor, Hermione selected one bridesmaid from each house, Lavender, Padma, Susan, and Tracey. For the groomsmen Harry went with his Gryffindor dormmates, and Dobby acted as the ringbearer. The wedding was held in the great hall, with the reception in the ballroom, and later that evening Fred and George provided a spectacular fireworks display out in the courtyard.

After the wedding Hermione kept her maiden name, which later avoided the confusion of having two Professor Potters. While this wasn't unheard of in the wizarding world, it generally occurred when a pureblood witch married a muggleborn wizard and wished to preserve her social standing. It had never happened the other way around, but being unique had long since ceased being an issue with Harry and Hermione. At social events she was perfectly agreeable to being introduced as Hermione Granger Potter, and her children were all Potters, but she would always be known as Hermione Granger. It didn't really matter as far as being recognized as Harry's wife, since the names Harry Potter and Hermione Granger would forever be linked in the public's mind.

When it came time to think about children, they were both in agreement that they wanted a large family. Hermione had been an only child, and had always wanted siblings. And as far she was concerned Harry had been an only child in more than one sense. At least she had loving parents. And so after Jamie and Lily came Sirius, and then later on Cedric and finally Amelia. And Harry had the large, loving family he had always dreamed of.

-----

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were each offered seats on the Wizengamot. Harry and Hermione accepted, but Ron wasn't all that interested and was able to get Bill to take his place. He had also considered Percy, but he was gradually working his way up the ranks of the Ministry on his way to being Minister of Magic and as such would have his own seat on the legislative body. In the wizard equivalent of the House of Lords, where the Potters and the Blacks both held hereditary seats, Harry took the Potter seat and Hermione the Black seat. This then, became the ultimate irony for the noble and most ancient House of Black, whose motto on the family crest read _'Toujours pur'_ or 'Always Pure': to be represented by a muggleborn witch and her descendents.

-----

When McGonagall retired, Harry became headmaster and Hermione assistant headmistress, positions which they held for more than one hundred years. McGonagall had continued her efforts to reduce the rivalries between houses, and to upgrade the level of instruction, and as a result there were relatively few initiatives that Harry felt necessary to undertake as headmaster. Many of the changes that had been instituted during his seventh year had become popular traditions, such as the flexible seating at meals, and the four dances each year. By far the most significant alteration of the Hogwarts experience made by Headmaster Potter (and Assistant Headmistress Granger), after some spirited discussion with the rest of the staff, was the retiring of the Sorting Hat.

Neither Harry nor Hermione had ever been comfortable with the idea of being pigeonholed at the age of eleven, particularly since both of them had nearly been sorted into different houses. In place of the sorting, they created a new house solely for first years, where they would all live together, get to know each other, make friends, and adjust to life at Hogwarts without the competition of house points. At the end of their first year, after interviews with the heads of houses and a final interview with the Headmaster, students were assigned to houses for the remaining six years of their studies based both on their abilities and their preferences.

-----

Harry and Hermione's even more grand ideas for the reform of wizarding society didn't catch on immediately, but they continued to push for them at every opportunity, and their fame always guaranteed them at least a polite reception. The first changes that were made were the repeal of the anti-werewolf legislation and the laws and practices that were discriminatory against muggleborns. In many cases, people didn't realize how unfair some of them were, like the enforcement of the Restriction for Underage Magic, which mainly targeted muggleborns.

Relations with the goblins improved, and wizarding families began to look differently at house elves, but as more changes occurred, there was the inevitable backlash. The opposition gradually grew and it was led by the old-line pureblood families who had previously had the most political influence. They obviously didn't like ceding power to the mixed blood and muggleborns that were starting to make more strides in the business, social, and political arenas. It finally came to a head when Percy Weasley was elected Minister of Magic and began to push for sweeping anti-discrimination legislation for all sentient magical beings. By the end of his first term his re-election campaign became a referendum on this issue. And his opponent was Tracey Davis.

Tracey had been gradually building up her political power, and by this time had amassed enough 'information' on various Wizengamot members that she controlled a large block of votes. She was the ideal candidate for the opposition because she was young and not part of the old crowd, was a war hero with an Order of Merlin (unlike Percy) and was known to be a friend of Harry Potter. She was clever enough in her campaigning never to disparage her opponent or speak against the issue that was so dear to Harry's heart, but always used language like 'restoring old-fashioned values'. With the _Daily Prophet_ under Daphne's control and solidly supporting her, and with Harry refusing to endorse either of his friends over the other, the election went right down to the wire. Tracey won by the slimmest of margins.

But then, to the shock of the entire country, Tracey announced that she supported all of Percy's reforms and appointed him to be her second in command. She shifted the block of votes she controlled in favor of his legislation and it passed in a landslide. The opposition was in shambles, and by the time it recovered the damage was done. The purebloods would never be a significant factor again. For many years thereafter she and Percy alternated between the two top spots, and Britain became the most progressive country in Europe in the area of magical cooperation.

The stratagem that rocked wizarding society had been conceived and plotted out at the 25th year DA reunion in Jamaica. While the main players in the drama were Tracey, Daphne, Ernie and Harry, with Hermione being the primary architect of the legislation, everyone had played a part and helped plan the strategy. The group of friends faithfully continued to get together as they had promised, and the gathering grew as spouses and children were added to the mix. Of course Harry happily expanded the resort to accommodate them all. The band of students that changed the world eventually produced 42 children, a Minister of Magic, three Ministry department heads, four Wizengamot members, three professional quidditch players, owners of several successful businesses, and six Hogwarts professors. There was no doubt that they merited being considered the most successful group of students in Hogwarts history.

-----

Life didn't stay perfect forever. As this group of wizards and witches moved into middle age, which would ordinarily last for more than one hundred years, it became clear that there was something wrong with Ginny Weasley Longbottom. Instead of aging like a witch, she aged more like a muggleborn woman. Eventually it was concluded that the possession by Tom Riddle had drained so much life force from her that her life span would only be half that of a normal witch. In the year that she and Neville celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary she resigned from her duties as flight instructor at Hogwarts, although she kept coming to quidditch matches as long as she could, and was able to see all of her grandchildren play. On Harry and Hermione's insistence she and Neville moved into some of the guest rooms of Potter Place so that as her health diminished Harry and Hermione could take turns with Neville staying with her. She died during the summer of her 80th year, and the youngest member of the elite DA became the first to pass on.

-----

By contrast, Harry and Hermione enjoyed longer life spans than ordinary wizards and witches. Whether it had something to do with Gryffindor's ring and Hufflepuff's necklace and their magical link, or their own mental connection, or the fact that they were the most powerful witch and wizard of their generation no one knew. They finally retired from Hogwarts in 2165 after 150 years of teaching (yet another record, this time shared between the two) and spent the rest of their years traveling, and in Hermione's case writing. Hermione achieved the last of her lifelong dreams by being named editor of _Hogwarts, a History_ for their tenth centennial edition, published in the year 2176.

But there are disadvantages of a long life as well, and eventually all of their friends were gone. When the last of their children also passed away, they knew it was time to go. Dernhelm Castle was left in a trust for the permanent use of the house elves, and sanctuary for werewolves. Potter Place was given to Hogwarts to house visiting parents and to continue to serve as a learning experience for Muggle Studies students.

Decades before, Dobby had helped them locate the other secret chamber beneath Hogwarts, where Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw had transferred their magical essences to make the castle sentient. On October 31, 2181, 200 years after the attack on Godric's Hollow, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger went down to the chamber and gave up the last of their magic to Hogwarts, moving on to the next great adventure, as always, together.

-

**Finite**

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**Afterword**

**Some Final Acknowledgements** – The last paragraph of the epilogue is modeled after the ending of 'How Does It Feel?' by PK Fan. The skin diving with gillyweed scene was inspired by a similar scene in 'No Thanks' by Old Crow. I added the mermaid part. The underwater description of the coral reef is largely taken from 'Tom and Harry' by Old Crow, but since I wrote that scene for him in the first place it seemed reasonable to use it again.

I began writing Soul Searching at the end of July, 2005, so it has been almost exactly a year from start to finish. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would end up with a pair of stories that totaled nearly 300,000 words! I only expected Soul Searching to be a medium length story covering the summer after Book 6; I didn't decide to write End Game until I found out how much I was enjoying Soul Searching and didn't want to stop. I never considered myself any kind of writer before (my only previous large piece of work was my PhD thesis – trust me, you _don't_ want to read that!), so it is always a pleasant surprise when reviewers extol my writing abilities. It wasn't until after I wrote several chapters of Soul Searching and shared them with Old Crow, and he urged me to continue, that I got up the nerve to consider posting the story. I really owe him an enormous debt, since I never would have written anything without his encouragement.

I plan to continue writing, but I doubt that I will write another mega story like Soul Searching/End Game any time soon, if at all. I currently have ideas for four other stories of short to medium length, one of which is about half finished as of this writing. Check out my profile occasionally if you're interested in reading more of my stories.

There are also many short stories that could be written based on sections of the epilogue for this story. If any aspiring writers out there want to give it a try, feel free to take a shot at of them if you like. Be sure and let me know if you do. I got my feet wet in fanfiction by writing an epilogue to one of Old Crow's stories. He didn't use it, but his positive response led me to try a story of my own.

I have an almost irresistible urge to end this by saying 'So long and thanks for all the fish' but I hope to be writing to you again soon so I'll close with something less final.

Till later.

Chem Prof


	21. A Chocolate Alternative

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

**IMPORTANT – READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER**

For various reasons I have written three different endings to this story. You may choose to read the one you prefer or as many of them as you wish. I have posted them all simultaneously, as separate chapters. They are mostly the same (about 80 percent identical), but each has a different relationship ending. So if you can only tolerate Harry with Hermione, read the first ending. The second one (this one) will have Harry marrying Ginny. The third will be a combination. This way the H/Hr shippers (most of you I think) should be happy, the H/G shippers (primarily my kids) have what they want (pretty much), and there's even a version for the H/Hr/G harem fans.

So, read the one you like and please don't complain about the other two just because you don't like the ship.

---------------

**Chapter 20b, A Chocolate Alternative – Harry and Ginny**

Ginny opened her eyes to find herself in a very unfamiliar situation. She wasn't in either her dorm room or the Hospital Wing. She wasn't in a bed. She was wearing someone else's clothing. Someone's arm was around her.

As her thoughts began to sort themselves out, some of these unusual observations resolved themselves. She recognized that she was in the common room of the Heads suite. She was lying on Harry and Hermione's sofa, although it was much larger than it should be. She was wearing only a large tee shirt and a pair of knickers. That wasn't so unusual – she often slept in such attire. But the tee shirt wasn't hers. And the person snuggled up behind her with his arm around her was Harry. All things considered, she thought, this was a very nice situation to wake up in.

The previous night after she had brought Hermione back here, the two girls had sat and talked about the dilemma they found themselves in, and decided it was time to resolve it. When Harry had returned they had literally picked him up and plopped him down on the sofa between them to hash things out. Ginny had begun by apologizing to Harry for the actions that had created the rift between them. She had admitted that those actions had been wrong and she should have known better. It had been a mistake for her to get that intimate in relationships that weren't very serious. The three of them agreed that she had found herself in a situation she couldn't handle, and then because of her poor self-image and her immaturity made decisions that were hard to reverse. She finished by telling Harry that what she regretted the most was the pain that her actions had caused him, and her realization of how much more painful it was when you hurt someone you loved.

For his part Harry apologized to her for reacting the way that he had, and for not talking to her about it to try to work things out. He noted that despite the image that their dating machinations of the previous term had given him, he was quite naive about relationships and had a difficult time dealing with the physical side of them. He admitted to her that he had started to realize that he had romantic feelings for Hermione as well as for Ginny long before that incident, and that it had been unfair to her to use it as an excuse to explore those feelings. Both of them forgave the other, and all three of them agreed that everyone was at fault to some extent.

But, Harry concluded, the bottom line was that he thought he was in love with both of them. And two months later he still didn't know what to do about it. At that point he had put an arm around each girl and they both snuggled up next to him, sitting there pondering their situation well into the night. Eventually they had decided to sleep on it, and Hermione had transfigured the sofa so that they could all stay snuggled up together. Hermione had given Ginny the tee shirt to sleep in, explaining that it was one of Harry's that she had borrowed last summer and never returned, and had remarked with a knowing smile that Ginny would probably find it as comforting to sleep in as she had.

As she was reviewing these events, Ginny's attention was brought back to the present when Harry's hand moved up on her chest. During the night the tee shirt had ridden up past her waist and his hand was touching bare skin. She smiled to herself as she remembered her mum's reaction when Hermione had bought her the nice pairs of knickers for her birthday, assuming that the whole point was to show Harry. Well, as soon as he woke up he was certainly going to get an eyeful of this pair. Those thoughts suddenly vanished when Harry's hand came to rest up against her right breast.

Ginny's heart started pounding. Was he awake? Did he know what he was doing to her? She shuddered as a jolt of pleasure went through her when his thumb began to move back and forth, tracing the curve of the lower part of her breast. Hermione had been right again. The feeling was so much better when it was someone you loved. She moved her hand to cover his, and she felt him shift. He was definitely awake, she decided, and she could feel his excitement as his hips pressed up against her lacy red knickers, even through the shorts he was wearing. She had been waiting for this moment for months. This was her chance to take their relationship to the more physical level she had wanted two months ago. She covered his hand with her own, not to keep it from going farther but to keep him from removing it if he changed his mind.

She gave his hand a little squeeze and he took the hint as his fingers began exploring further. She felt a jolt go right down to her core, and she responded by wiggling her hips and grinding her pelvis back against him.

"No, not this time," he whispered in her ear. She reluctantly stopped her wiggling, but another thrill shot through her at the 'this time' part of his directive. Her heart was pounding now and it was all she could do to lie still as his fingers continued their ministrations. She closed her eyes and just let the feeling wash over her, and was aware of pressure building up inside her. Both nipples had hardened under his teasing and each stroke sent another tingle through her. He was trailing little kisses along the back of her neck and she couldn't help the little moan that escaped when he reached a sensitive spot below her ear. Her breath had started coming in gasps when it hit – a wave of pleasure flowed out from her center all the way to her toes and fingers and her whole body shuddered as she let out an involuntary cry. _He was hers!_

He loved her. She loved him.

But he also loved Hermione.

She had been watching him closely the past week. She had seen the way he looked at Hermione and talked about her. She finally understood and now fully experienced what Hermione had been talking about that night last summer after the wedding. _If you truly loved someone, you wanted what was best for him, even if it didn't include you._ What was best for Harry? They had to find out. Still catching her breath, she rolled over to face him.

---

Harry's pulse began racing as he became aware of where his hand was. This was the heart of his dilemma. He loved both girls but he felt a level of excitement with Ginny that he hadn't really felt with Hermione, or at least permitted himself to feel. He found himself reacting to Ginny's body pressed up against his own, and his hand responded almost automatically as his thumb began to trace the curve of her breast. This had never happened during any of the times he had shared a bed with Hermione.

Even when he kissed Hermione, the feelings he had could be described as sweet, comfortable, contented. Definitely pleasurable. But only a few times had it been passionate like it used to be when he kissed Ginny. Dan had told him that the exciting, pit of the stomach feeling would come and go. But it seemed to come a lot more often with Ginny than with Hermione.

He could feel her growing excitement as his hands explored her delightful breasts. He was fascinated by his ability to bring her nipples erect with only a few strokes, and cause her to moan with a few little kisses in the right spot. Even though he had never done this before, he could tell he was clearly doing it right, and when her body shuddered and she cried out softly he almost lost it himself. As he felt her body relax he pulled her to himself, cupping her breasts tenderly as if they were they were a precious treasure. They were. She was. All he could think about was how much he wanted this girl. He loved her. She loved him.

But what about Hermione?

Harry was amazed when Ginny broke contact and rolled to face him. He was astonished at what she said.

"Roll over."

"Huh?"

"You should do this with Hermione."

""What?"

"The two of you need to figure out what you really want."

With eyes wide Harry watched as Ginny pulled away and sat up, then rose from the transfigured sofa. She walked over to Hermione's room and paused, turning back before she disappeared inside. "Go ahead."

Puzzled, Harry rolled over to face Hermione and found her awake and gazing back at him. Green eyes locked with brown eyes as their minds met.

'Ginny said …' 

'_I heard.'_

---

Hermione had been aware of the movement next to her, and guessed what was happening. Ginny was finally getting what she wanted. Was this it then? Would Harry get back together with her? Should she leave and give them some privacy? Should she stay and make her own play for him? She and Harry had agreed to hold off on any intimate contact until things sorted themselves out. Was it too late now? Did she even want a more physical relationship with him?

Ginny's little cry told her that the younger girl had just had a very satisfying experience. Now what? Sooner than she expected, Ginny broke her contact with Harry and turned to speak with him, then got up and left the room. Then Harry turned to her and their eyes locked.

'Ginny said …' 

'_I heard.'_

Hermione was wearing her usual sleepwear – a camisole top and pajama bottoms. Harry reached out his hand and slipped it under the bottom of her loose top, resting it on her waist. Slowly, he began to move it up, never breaking eye contact. Their eyes continued to probe each other as a hundred messages passed between them. He paused when his index finger reached the beginning of the swell of one of her breasts, and his thumb entered the valley between them. This was the bright shining line that they had agreed not to cross. At least not until now. Now, he found his pulse racing again, just as it had been moments ago. And from where his hand rested, he could feel her heart doing the same. But it was different than before. There was a calmness, a contentment just in the physical contact they were making with each other. But it didn't come close to matching the contentment they received from the mental contact they were making. And he knew. And she knew. She voiced it first.

"We don't need this."

"You're right."

"But Ginny does."

"I know."

They both instinctively knew what they were feeling, but Hermione was able to put it into words. "Harry, what we have is something no one else has. We're connected, you and I, by a deeper kind of love. A special kind of love that is ours alone. We share an intimacy that is every bit as satisfying as a physical relationship would be. Harry, I'm never happier than when I'm hugging you, or touching you, or when you're holding me. But really, that's all I need, because I'm so connected to you. Just being with you, sharing things with you, is everything. If we can keep that I'll be happy for the rest of my life." She paused, a slight tilt of her head sending him a silent query to see if he was following her. A nod and the look in his eyes confirmed that he agreed.

"That's not to say that I don't think we could have a wonderful physical relationship." They shared a smile. "But …"

"Ginny."

"She really loves you Harry. She never gave up on you, but she's willing to give you up if that's what's best for you. And after everything that's happened … she deserves it Harry. And I don't think it's a matter of winning you or losing you. We can all be winners if we can make it work."

Harry nodded again. He knew what Hermione had in mind. They would make it work. People might think the situation strange, but he was long past caring about people thinking him strange. The most difficult thing would be explaining it to Dan and Emma. And Molly.

-----

Ginny emerged from Hermione's room to find her two best friends locked in an embrace. She struggled to bring her emotions under control and squared her shoulders, preparing for the worst. Harry and Hermione broke apart and beckoned her forward so she sat down between them, puzzled.

"Ginny, you know I love you. But you also know about the connection that Hermione and I have, and always will have. It's even stronger than you might have realized. We're a part of each other, like we're soul bonded somehow. If you can accept that a part of me will always be with Hermione, just as a part of her will be with me, then you and I …"

Ginny's face had been cycling through a number of emotions, ending with a hopeful look of joy. She couldn't hold it in any longer and broke in, turning excitedly to Hermione. "You mean?"

Hermione nodded. "The rest of him's all yours, sis."

Thrilled beyond belief, Ginny turned back to Harry and launched herself into his arms, her lips devouring his. Hermione grinned at her and reached out to give them both a little squeeze, then rose from the sofa and headed for her room. Just as she reached the doorway, she turned back with a twinkle in her eye.

"Let me know when you two are ready to go down to breakfast. And Ginny, don't forget to give me that tee shirt back when you're finished with it."

Ginny broke away and looked at the empty doorway through which Hermione had just disappeared. With a salacious gleam in her eye she stood up and pulled the shirt off, leaving herself clad only in her lacy red knickers. She hurled the tee shirt into Hermione's room, and heard an acknowledging giggle. Turning back to a gobsmacked Harry, she reached out and tugged his shirt off, too. As he sat there unresisting, a dazed grin plastered over his face, she plopped herself back into his lap and wrapped her arms around him again, saying impishly, "Now, where were we?"

---------------

A/N That's all you're going to get for this scene. If you want more, use your imagination or find one of the hundreds of R rated stories on the net. Just remember, in my story Harry and Ginny (and Hermione) feel that sex should wait until marriage. But that doesn't mean that they can't enjoy other stimulating activities together.

---------------

**Ten Years Later**

"… and he took his sword and CUT off the bad wizard's head."

"Cool!"

"Yech!"

Harry smiled at his two children who had been listening attentively to the bedtime story. He ruffled the dark, messy hair of the boy who was grinning happily at the ending of the story, but the little girl had a disgusted look on her face. Then she looked up at him worriedly, her brown eyes boring deeply into his. _Just like her mother,_ he thought contentedly. "Daddy, is the bad wizard gone now?"

"Yes, sweetie, he's all gone. Everything's fine. Go to sleep now."

"Night, Daddy," the two voices chorused.

"Good night, Jamie. Good night, Lily," Harry said as he gave each of them a hug and gave Lily a kiss (knowing that Jamie considered himself to be too big for a kiss).

He sat in the darkness for a long time just looking at the two of them, reveling as he did every night in the feelings that he had been denied growing up. He had a family. He had a real home. Life was just about perfect. Eventually he got up and went into another bedroom, where a witch sat brushing her bushy hair, preparing for bed. As he had nearly every night since the summer after his sixth year, he sat down to talk about his day with his best friend.

As they talked, Hermione turned away from him. Harry smiled and began to massage her back. This was the pattern they followed every evening. As she did every night, Hermione had changed into a terrycloth tube top. It gave him unfettered access to her shoulders and upper back, but maintained her modesty. Harry regularly saw quite a bit more of her when they went to the beach together, or swam in their pool, but as she had pointed out long ago, it was different on the beach than in the bedroom.

As he finished the massage, she brought up her big piece of news. "I made the final arrangements with the fertility specialist today." Harry nodded. Their living situation had worked out perfectly as far as they were all concerned, but as the children grew older Hermione's biological urges had begun to assert themselves. She had decided that she wanted to have a baby as well, and they had all agreed on the plan for her to be artificially inseminated.

"You're sure you want to go through with it?" Harry asked, seeking one final confirmation. "You're sure you can handle what people are going to say?"

"We've managed to put up with those rumors all our lives, Harry. The people who we really care about will understand."

"OK, I'll go see him tomorrow."

They got up and Harry gave her a hug, and she responded with a friendly kiss. "Make sure Ginny gets her back rub," she added. Harry grinned again as he left her bedroom. She and Ginny had long ago become hooked on Harry's massages, and each always looked out for the other, taking every opportunity to remind him of his 'duty'.

Entering his own bedroom, Harry took off his clothes, and crawled into bed, snuggling up to his wife from behind. As he did every night, he appreciated the decision they had made long ago that nightgowns and pajamas were completely unnecessary articles of clothing.

"So, how did you kill him this time?" came a soft voice from the figure curled up in front of him.

"Cut off his head with a sword." Harry responded as his left arm wrapped around her, his hand coming to rest on her breast, cupping it tenderly.

"Yech!" came the reply, bringing a smile to his face. Like mother, like daughter.

"Funny, that's the same reaction Lily had," Harry replied teasingly, while entwining the fingers of his other hand in her hair. He loved the sensation, and knew that she did too. "Hermione said not to forget your backrub," he added.

"Mmm," came the response. "Hermione _is _the smartest witch we know. Better do what she says."

Harry's hands lovingly massaged her upper back and shoulders, which were all that he could reach in this position, for a while before returning to their original places. "Speaking of Hermione, she says she's ready to try it." Harry knew this wouldn't be news to Ginny – she and Hermione were as close as two women could possibly be – but wanted to make sure she was all right with it.

"I know, she told me earlier." Harry heard the hesitation in her voice and waited patiently for her to continue. "Harry, if you wanted to do it the regular way it would be OK with me." Harry was taken aback. He had expected her to be supportive, but this was amazing. But then, it was Ginny, and that's the way she was. "You know," she continued, "people will think that anyway."

Harry hugged her to himself in a loving embrace, and felt her warm body melt into his. "Maybe," he replied, "but we'll know."

"I love you Harry."

"I love you too, Ginny." _Yep, life was just about perfect._

-

**The End (Except for the Epilogue)**

---------------

A/N These endings were conceived months ago, before I even started writing End Game. For lack of a better description, I'm calling this a movie style ending, where the couple finally gets together at the end and then there's a jump forward in time to a final scene where they're married and living happily ever after. While it seems abrupt, remember that the main emphasis of this story has always been the relationship between Harry and Hermione.

When I began writing Soul Searching I had planned to have the story end up with Harry and Ginny married, and with Hermione living with them as a _very_ close friend. But the H/Hr shipper in me (and the insistence of my beta reviewers) kept calling me to put Harry and Hermione together. Later on I came up with the combination idea. Thus the alternate endings. The challenge was to write the story in such a way that each of the endings is at least plausible. My Harry-Hermione bias probably made the first ending the most likely, but I hope I've at least created the possibility of the other endings. I'm sure all my readers will let me know how well I did and/or which endings they liked best.

A problem with this 'jump forward' type of ending is that it is rather unsatisfactory for readers who want to know more details about what happened to everyone else, as well as a bit more about the main characters. So I've also written a long epilogue, which should tie up all the loose ends. The epilogue is nearly identical for all three endings, except of course for the Harry/Hermione/Ginny parts. There is no new information in any one of the three epilogues compared to the others, so each of these endings can be read as a stand-alone finale.

Finally, I've decided to attach the epilogue to this concluding chapter, so you don't have to wait another week to read it. Enjoy!

---------------

**Epilogue – aka, The Rest of the Story**

After the final battle the family members of the most prominent Death Eaters such as Narcissa Malfoy were arrested and tried, with many being sentenced to terms in Azkeban. The loss of so many pureblood families created a power vacuum that was eventually filled by families like the Davis's, Greengrass's, and Zabini's, who had remained neutral during the war.

The Death Eaters that had been captured were tried, and most, like Bellatrix Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov, were executed. Severus Snape was a special case. The only person he had killed was Albus Dumbledore. That alone would have been enough for a death sentence, but he claimed that it was all part of a secret plan known only to him and the Headmaster. Harry testified that Dumbledore was very weak from the potion he had ingested that night, but still very much alive, and that his only instructions were for Harry to take him to Snape. He further noted with indignation that his assumption was that Snape was going to heal the Headmaster, not kill him, and that anyone who thought that Dumbledore would have sacrificed his life to maintain Snape's cover as a spy was insane.

After a long deliberation, the jury sentenced Snape to life imprisonment in Azkeban. There was some macabre speculation among the students on what Snape experienced when confronted with a Dementor. Some thought it was Neville Longbottom blowing up cauldrons. Others suggested it was Hermione Granger answering question after question correctly and Snape being forced to give points to Gryffindor. They finally concluded that it was probably Harry Potter receiving an Order of Merlin. In any case, Severus Snape's stay in Azkeban was not a long one and he died the way he had lived, a lonely, bitter man filled with hate.

-----

As expected, Harry, Ron, and Ginny's team won the Quidditch Cup that spring, the third for each of them. The following year Ginny would go on to win her fourth, tying her brother Charlie's record.

Charlie survived the attack by Nagini, but never recovered the use of his arm. This ended his career as a dragon handler so he agreed to stay on at Hogwarts to continue helping out in Care of Magical Creatures. After a long talk with McGonagall about teaching, Hagrid admitted that he wasn't that comfortable as a professor and agreed to return to being gamekeeper, and Charlie accepted the teaching position full time. Hagrid, however, was always enthusiastic about making suggestions regarding 'interesting' creatures that could be brought in to show the classes.

Percy was welcomed back to the Weasley family after his long estrangement. It took Molly quite some time to calm herself down after hugging everyone in sight upon his return to the Burrow, particularly when he announced his engagement to Penelope Clearwater on the same visit. His younger brothers, who had been ready to hex him to oblivion the year before, had a lot more respect for him after they discovered the difficult role he had been required to play. The stressful situation had also managed to humanize him a bit more, as he had plenty of time to ponder his mistakes and realize how important his family was to him.

Bill continued on at Gringott's main headquarters, benefiting from his close association with Harry. He would eventually rise to become the equivalent of a vice president, the highest post ever held by a human at the goblin-owned bank, and he became instrumental in the effort to improve wizard-goblin relations. The arrival of Fleur's baby that summer put Molly Weasley over the top with happiness, her recovery from the stress of the war complete. When Bill and Fleur named her Janelle in honor of Hermione's alter ego, Molly got the message and finally accepted the muggleborn witch's inescapable role in Harry's life.

Neville never regained consciousness, and finally succumbed to his injuries two weeks after the battle. Harry made sure that there was another memorial ceremony just for him, where he was posthumously awarded his Order of Merlin, 2nd class, and his name was added to the monument outside of Hogsmeade, right above Moody's name.

To no one's surprise, Hermione finished at the top of the class in all of her subjects, and scored straight O's in all of her NEWTs, including those for which she had studied independently. She ended up with a total of nine – Ancient Runes, Arithmency, Charms, Defense, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration. Harry finished second to her in Transfiguration and third behind her and Padma in Charms, but didn't take enough courses to be included in the official class ranking. At Hermione's insistence he took the NEWT for Muggle Studies in addition to those in Charms, Defense, and Transfiguration, receiving an E and three O's.

Their actual scores on the NEWTs set several records. Harry received the highest NEWT score for Defense Against the Dark Arts in history. After he achieved a perfect score on the written portion of the exam Professor Tofty, the Ministry examiner giving the NEWT, was so impressed by Harry that he refused to even test him on the practical, awarding him full marks plus 100 bonus points. He reasoned that if producing a patronus was worth one bonus point on an OWL, destroying Lord Voldemort was worth 100 on a NEWT. If not for Harry, Hermione would have had the highest Defense NEWT score in history. During her practical, the examiner foolishly decided to see if he could come up with a dark spell that she didn't know the counter to, and gave her a bonus point for every one she could block. He finally gave up thirty minutes and fifty bonus points later. Needless to say, Harry's record of 300 points on a 200 point exam (not to mention Hermione's mark of 250) was never broken.

Hermione also set the records for the highest scores in Transfiguration and Charms of the century, eclipsing McGonagall's mark set fifty-five years previously in Transfiguration, and Lily Evans's twenty year old Charms record. Albus Dumbledore's marks in those two subjects, set the previous century, remained as the highest overall. As a group, the Defense scores of the class of 1998 were the highest ever at Hogwarts, breaking the record previously set by the class of 1978. This also surprised no one, since more than half of the class were members of the elite DA, and the rest of them were in the advanced group of the regular DA. Ron finished with the third highest Defense score of the year, with a mark that would have been at the top of the class in most any other year.

-----

After graduation Harry treated the elite DA members to a weeklong vacation at one of the properties that the Potter estate owned, in Jamaica, in an expression of his gratitude for everything they had done. It was a secluded resort on the west coast with a dozen small cottages and included a pool and a private beach. Dean was still in a wheelchair so he and Lavender stuck to the pool. In general the rest of the group spent their time on the beach, leaving the couple to have the pool to themselves most days. Dean and Lavender assured the others that this was just fine, and they were glad to have the private time together.

The first thing Hermione did was take the girls into the nearby resort village of Negril to introduce them to the concept of the string bikini. Initially the witches, especially the purebloods, expressed their disbelief that women would permit themselves to be seen in public in garments that were even more revealing than underwear, but they all eventually summoned the courage to try the miniscule swim costumes. A buying frenzy ensued, ending with each of the witches owning at least two. Lavender's pregnancy was starting to show now, but she bravely went along with the rest, which revealed her condition to the DA members who didn't already know. All the girls were excited for her, squealing as they examined her swelling abdomen and chattering about what it was like, how she was feeling, and so forth. For their parts the boys hung back as if she were contagious and looked at Dean as though he had just received a prison sentence, but upon seeing that he was as thrilled about it as Lavender was, they gradually loosened up.

Once the girls got more used to their new swimwear, and began eyeing the other sunbathers on the beach in Negril, Tracey dared Daphne to go even further and wear a thong like the ones that several of the muggle women were sporting. Daphne quickly shot back that she would wear one if Hermione did. Hermione, who had on the magical swimsuit that she had bought in Florida, immediately took the challenge and transformed it into a thong on the spot. As Tracey gave Daphne a triumphant smirk, the gorgeous blonde shrugged in defeat, reminded herself again never to underestimate Hermione Granger, and changed into a thong. To no one's surprise Lavender also took up the challenge, but to everyone's surprise Luna did as well. (Although, in retrospect, they realized that nothing Luna did should surprise them.) Not to be outdone by her two best friends, Ginny also agreed to get one, but would only wear it when Harry was around, and when Ron was _not_. The other five witches decided that the regular string bikinis were revealing enough for them. Either way, there was a group of very appreciative wizards in Jamaica that week.

One morning Lavender, who frequently had to get up early to use the loo, spotted Harry, Ginny, and Hermione out at the pool swimming laps, and was amazed to see Hermione and Ginny swimming topless. While Ginny initially moved to cover up, not yet being completely accustomed to that level of exposure, Hermione unabashedly explained to Lavender how much she enjoyed the feeling of swimming and sunning unencumbered in that fashion and encouraged her to try it. She added that some muggle women sunned topless during pregnancy because they thought it helped toughen their breasts for nursing a baby. When Dean later beheld the results of this discussion when he and Lavender were out at the pool by themselves, it reaffirmed his belief that Hermione Granger was the smartest witch in the world.

Hermione being Hermione, she couldn't pass up the chance to learn something about wizards in other countries, so some of the group spent an afternoon visiting the local wizard community. They learned that in Jamaica, the wizards mingled freely with the nonmagical people, posing as members of a local sect called Rastafarians. The dreadlocks worn by these wizards reminded Harry of Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan. Other than that excursion, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione spent all their time sunning on the beach and diving on the reef. Remembering their experience in the Florida Keys, Harry had brought along a large supply of gillyweed for everyone to use in their underwater exploring, and showed them how to use it.

One day when the three of them were skin diving together the two girls decided to reward Harry with a little something different. Hermione, like Viktor Krum had during the second task, performed a partial transfiguration on herself and Ginny, but with much more attractive results than a shark's head. Harry suddenly found himself swimming with two beautiful mermaids. Hermione's wild untamed hair flowed around her like a lion's mane, and though it was clear that her figure was curvier than Ginny's, it was Ginny who took his breath away – or would have if he hadn't eaten gillyweed. With her flowing red hair and petite figure Ginny looked just like the title character of the Disney movie, but without the sea shell top that was necessary for the movie's G rating. (A/N – Take a look at the statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark to see what a mermaid ought to look like. Hey, it's their story.)

Harry sent Hermione a mental query asking if she was going to give him a tail also, but she returned smugly that she and Ginny preferred him with his legs and bum intact, particularly with the brief swimsuit he was wearing. Deciding to show his gratitude for the girls' efforts, Harry transformed his suit into a thong for the duration of the dive, much to their delight.

For the next hour the three of them glided through the coral canyons, chasing colorful fish in and out of the gently waving purple sea fans and multicolored soft corals. Groups of blue and yellow striped french grunts hovered beneath the sea fans, eyeing them warily. Small damselfish darted in and out of the honeycombed rock, challenging them. A multicolored parrotfish gnawed noisily on a coral outcropping and a large school of midnight blue tangs swept by. A pair of four-eyed butterflies moved along just out of reach, never separating for more than a moment before rejoining. Down under a ledge, a lobster waved its antennae menacingly at them.

Over and over Harry found his attention drawn to the lovely creatures swimming along beside him, and they likewise had a hard time taking their eyes off of him as well. Every so often they caught each other looking and smiled. By the time the hour was up Harry decided that it had been as close to paradise on earth as he could possibly get. Although the three of them didn't repeat the experience that week, they vowed that they and their family would return to this spot again and again throughout their lives. Ginny had one more treat for Harry before they left the island, though, when (at Hermione's suggestion) the two of them snuck away to Bloody Bay, a clothing optional beach just north of Negril's main beach, for some nude sunbathing early one morning before anyone else was about.

During the course of the week the group of students strengthened the ties that would last them for a lifetime. In years to come this would turn out to be one of the most accomplished classes in Hogwarts history, and they all knew that the experiences that they had shared that year had forged unbreakable bonds. While some of them would achieve success in business, some in government, some in sports, and some in academia, they would all be there for each other when needed. Before they returned they all vowed to stay close to each other, and decided that they would get together again like this every five years.

-----

Upon their return, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to share a house in Hogsmeade while they worked out what they were going to do with the rest of their lives. They enjoyed living in the wizarding village, and often had friends stop by to visit during the summer. Of course, the most common visitor was Ginny, although for propriety's sake Molly insisted that she officially live at the Burrow until she was married. After some discussion with Ginny and Hermione, Harry decided to build a permanent residence in that town, splitting their time between there and Potter Mansion. Harry purchased the Shrieking Shack and they built a large sprawling house on the property, with lots of rooms for guests, and the newly named Potter Place became a place for their friends to stay when visiting Hogwarts.

As they were moving their possessions from the house on Turnbull Court to their new house in Hogsmeade, Hermione had the idea, which Harry enthusiastically agreed with, to make Potter Place a mixed muggle and magical house. With the installation of solar panels on the roof and a small windmill that they built in the hills above Hogsmeade they were able to generate enough electricity to power their entertainment system, a computer, and other small appliances. Ginny was much more thrilled with the muggle features than Ron. Whereas he had been unable to cope with muggle living the previous summer, she embraced it enthusiastically. For her it was an important part of Harry's (not to mention Hermione's) life, and another way for her to be able to know and understand him better.

When Ted and Andromeda Tonks saw it they immediately asked if they could bring their Muggle Studies classes for a visit. This turned into an important component of the Muggle Studies curriculum and hundreds of students would benefit over the years by being able to visit the house and see how muggles lived.

Harry and Ginny also decided to keep the tunnel that had connected the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow and in later years would often use it for easy access to the castle. It turned out to be particularly handy during Ginny's final year at Hogwarts, as she and Harry both utilized it for after hours visiting. Needless to say, Ginny found Harry's invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map to be very helpful that school year. They did put a sealed portal at the end of the tunnel under the tree. Even though, as the years went by, from time to time there were students clever enough to figure out how to sneak down past the Whomping Willow into the tunnel, it was safe to say that none of them would ever break Harry and Hermione's locking charms on the portal.

After the summer ended Ron moved out and found his own place. He was beginning to reap the rewards of his fame, not the least of which was his attractiveness to the opposite sex. Without two housemates, especially his female best friend who didn't always approve of his choices in women, he was better able to enjoy the opportunities that passed his way. Hermione, on the other hand, stayed in the house, even after Ginny moved in. While this initially raised a few eyebrows, and as it became clear that her residence in Harry's house was permanent, more than a little speculation, with time everyone became accustomed to the three's living arrangements.

The biggest hurdle, of course, was Molly Weasley. But once Molly understood that Dan and Emma had no objection to the accommodations, and that Ginny was perfectly happy to have Harry's best friend (who also happened to be _her_ best friend) under her roof, she finally gave up and accepted it. She was even able to handle Hermione's pregnancy ten years later, once Emma explained the muggle method she had used to conceive.

-----

During their last year at Hogwarts, Ginny and Luna shared the Head Girl position, with Colin Creevey becoming Head Boy. When asked why she had broken tradition by naming two head girls, McGonagall pointed out that no previous Hogwarts headmaster had ever had an Order of Merlin recipient available when it came time to select head students, much less three, and she wasn't about to snub any of them.

-----

Once they decided to settle in Hogsmeade, Harry realized that he could help rebuild the town by bringing in some of his friends and aiding them in establishing businesses. The first couple he set up was Dean and Lavender. During his years in Gryffindor Tower Harry had been impressed by Dean's artistic ability and while they were in Jamaica he and Hermione had spent some time by the pool talking with Dean and Lavender about their future. They found that Dean wanted to become a painter so when they returned they offered them the funds to start up a portrait business in Hogsmeade.

Although Dean and Lavender were initially reluctant to accept such a handout, a conversation with Fred and George convinced them that Harry was sincere about investing in his friends. Seeing the twins' success was pretty convincing too. A year later, Harry also helped Colin open a photography shop next door to Dean's portrait studio and the two businesses complemented each other nicely, with a significant portion of Dean's paintings being based on pictures that Colin had taken.

Lavender became a writer for the _Daily Prophet_, specializing in fashion and gossip, although she was always careful to be as accurate as possible. When their son was born in the fall, she and Dean wanted to name him after Harry, but he tried to talk them out of the idea. The fact that nearly half of the boys born in the wizarding world that year were named Harry also helped persuade them. And so it was that in September, 2010 James Harold (Jim) Thomas became the first child of any of the elite DA, the heroes of the war against Voldemort, to enter Hogwarts.

With Harry's assistance Parvati and Padma opened a clothing boutique in Hogsmeade, featuring a mixture of muggle and wizard fashions. Due to the great experience everyone had enjoyed at the Halloween dance, they found an eager customer base of Hogwarts students, and eventually they became successful enough to open a second shop in Diagon Alley. The twins worked well together, with Parvati focusing on sales and Padma keeping the books. When Flitwick retired Padma took over his positions as Charms professor and Head of Ravenclaw House.

Harry also helped to rebuild Diagon Alley by persuading the Gringotts goblins to grant interest free loans to merchants to help them reopen the shops that had been closed. Ragnok realized that far from being a money loser, this move was an investment that would pay off many times over in good will and improved goblin-wizard relations. One of the first establishments to reopen was Olivander's wand shop, and his first item of business was to create a custom made wand for Harry using the final feather Fawkes had given.

-----

Harry gave Grimmauld Place to Remus and Tonks as a wedding present. With their help SPEW (Hermione agreed to drop the embarrassing acronym) became a house elf employment agency providing work for the free house elves who had joined the fight against Voldemort. It was managed by Remus and Ted Tonks and provided a nice income to supplement their Hogwarts salaries. Many wizarding families who had never owned house elves of their own were now able to hire them on a temporary basis for weddings and other special occasions. The ranks of free house elves gradually grew with the addition of the mistreated elves of the executed Death Eaters. When not working, the elves all lived in and maintained Dernhelm Castle. They fixed up the dungeons in the castle, which had housed Death Eater prisoners, making them into comfortable, but secure cells that were then offered free of charge to any werewolf who needed a place to stay during the full moon. With time, and as new generations of wizards and witches were raised being exposed to the radical viewpoints of Harry and Hermione, the status of house elves would inevitably change.

-----

Seamus Finnegan was hired by Fred and George and returned to Ireland, where he opened the first overseas branch of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. As the company continued to grow, more stores opened and Seamus ended up overseeing their entire Irish division. The twins also expanded into France, starting a store near Beauxbaton's run by one of Fleur's cousins. After Viktor assured them that Durmstrang students also had a sense of humor, they got together with a friend of his to set up a shop in Germany. Despite Molly's urging, the twins never married, and played the role of fun-loving bachelor uncles to several generations of Weasley offspring.

As everyone expected, Ernie Macmillan went into politics, joining the Ministry of Magic. In time he became the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation where he was instrumental in helping advance Harry and Hermione's efforts to overcome class, cultural, and racial barriers in wizarding relations. He married his longtime friend Hannah Abbott and their oldest daughter became the second child of the former elite DA members to enter Hogwarts, in the fall of 2011.

Their fellow Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchly went on to get a degree at a muggle university, then replaced Ted and Andromeda Tonks as Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts and became Head of Hufflepuff House. The fourth Hufflepuff of the group, Susan Bones, followed her Aunt Amelia's footsteps and joined the Aurors, like her eventually rising to become the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Tracey Davis also went into politics, not as an employee of the Ministry of Magic, but operating behind the scenes much as Lucius Malfoy had done. Her ability to gather and use information, especially embarrassing information that gave her leverage over other politicians, slowly expanded her influence until she became one of the major power brokers in the government.

Daphne Greengrass and Ron went their separate ways after graduation. It was an amicable breakup, as they mutually agreed that they wanted different things in a long-term relationship. Daphne went through four different husbands in quick succession, accumulating more wealth and influence with each one. Her final marriage was to the publisher of the _Daily Prophet_, and by the age of thirty she was in control of the most influential wizard newspaper in the country. Daphne and Lavender, who rose through the ranks of the paper to become her personal assistant, were able to curb the flagrant lies and other excesses that had characterized the newspaper in the past, and make it into a hard-hitting but responsible publication. Daphne also used this public platform to support her best friend Tracey's political ambitions, and the two of them combined to become a formidable force in wizarding Britain, striking terror in the hearts of corrupt politicians.

Tracey never married, and when Daphne's fourth and final marriage ended with her in sole control of the _Daily Prophet_, the two former roommates moved in together and stayed together for the rest of their lives. While there were always suspicions of just how far their relationship went, they were always discreet and they both had too much power (and had demonstrated a willingness to use it for retribution) for anyone to dare make an issue of it in public. Although Harry didn't always approve of their actions and methods, he always considered them to be his friends and maintained a mutual respect with the Slytherin witches.

With Harry and Viktor's encouragement, Ron entered the quidditch development league, and after several years honing his skills he achieved his lifelong dream and signed with the Chudley Cannons as reserve keeper. After a satisfying career with the Canons he retired and joined the Department of Magical Games and Sports, soon becoming the head of that department, which brought the total of Ministry of Magic department heads for the class of '98 to three.

Ron continued his search for the girl of his dreams, and as one of the most famous heroes of the war had an unlimited number of willing candidates. But it wasn't until four years after graduation that he discovered her, or more accurately rediscovered her. For their fifth anniversary Bill and Fleur invited both of their families to celebrate with them at a villa in the south of France, and there Ron found her. Fleur's sister Gabrielle had just graduated from Beauxbatons, and while the 13 year old Gabrielle had captured Ron's attention at the wedding, when he met the 18 year old version he was totally smitten. She was everything he was looking for, a combination of breathtaking beauty with her long blonde hair and knockout figure, intelligence, loyalty, spirit of adventure, and a wicked sense of humor. By the end of the year they were engaged.

When Ron's brothers tried to tease him about the age difference, the sharp-witted Gabrielle quickly put them in their places by reminding them that Bill and Fleur were even farther apart in age. With a saucy wink at Ron she went on to declare that girls in her family were obviously attracted to mature men, which clearly didn't include Fred and George. After the laughter died down the family conceded that she was definitely deserving of becoming a Weasley. When Ron brought her to the first five-year DA reunion, the part veela was an immediate hit with the boys, but the girls eventually accepted her as well after she made it clear that Ron was the only guy for her. It also didn't hurt that she was equally comfortable discussing fashion with Lavender and Parvati, charms with Hermione and Padma, and politics with Daphne and Tracey.

-----

After taking the summer after graduation off for a well-deserved break, and spending time with her parents, Hermione continued her education for several years. She earned a mastery in both Transfiguration and Charms, and continued to help develop the Muggle Studies curriculum at Hogwarts, which due to Harry's and her influence quickly spread to wizarding schools in other countries. She also took some classes at St. Mungo's to further develop her healing skills. But the first thing she did that fall was to return to the muggle university where they had sought out help in destroying the horcruxes to take a chemistry class. There she was astonished to discover that the friendly chem prof she had glimpsed only briefly on her visit the year before was actually the father of Laura, one of the muggleborn students at Hogwarts. That explained, she decided, why Laura was so good at Potions. The girl had been a natural at the difficult subject.

He told her that he had thought he recognized her at the orientation session in Diagon Alley before the previous school year, but since she hadn't said anything he didn't either. During the laboratory sessions of the chemistry course, where they had time to talk one on one, she discovered that they had several interests in common. They both enjoyed science fiction, particularly _The Lord of the Rings_ and _Star Wars_, and he and his wife were very familiar with the area of Jamaica that she had just visited two months previously. The laboratory portion of the class was definitely her favorite part and by the end of the course she concluded that some of the things she learned there had potential applications in Potions.

Viktor persuaded Harry to join him and Troy in forming a touring all star quidditch team. They attended the quidditch world cup matches as spectators the first summer after Harry's graduation (having been given complimentary seats in the top box, of course), where Viktor and Troy formulated the idea and pitched it so some of their fellow quidditch stars. They were easily able to attract talented quidditch players from around the world and traveled across Britain and the rest of Europe playing exhibitions against local teams. Harry and Viktor took turns playing seeker, with whichever one wasn't playing acting as the coach. They had more bookings than they could handle, as they were a guaranteed sellout wherever they played. Eventually they discovered that they could also sell tickets to their practices, to which fans would flock to see the two most famous seekers in the world play against each other.

Viktor continued his courtship of Luna. In the year of Voldemort's defeat Harry and Viktor moved up to numbers one and two on the Witch Weekly list of most eligible bachelors, but it would be the last appearance for either of them. By the following summer Harry was married and Viktor had announced his engagement, to the dismay of hopeful witches throughout Europe. After graduation Luna joined her father at the Quibbler, eventually taking over the paper. Although she moved the paper toward more of a balance of stories, vigorously supporting Harry and Hermione's positions on goblin relations and elf rights, it still breathlessly reported all the latest sightings of fantastical creatures and announced the occasional bizarre conspiracy theory. She never lost the ability to bring the conversation to a halt with an off the wall observation. And Viktor loved her for it. She was the perfect counterpoint to his overly serious nature and he wouldn't have her any other way.

-----

As had been the case for every quidditch match he ever played, the cheering crowds at Harry's matches always included one Hermione Granger. Hermione accompanied Harry (and Ginny, when her own schedule permitted) to every city he visited, fulfilling the dream he had shared with her when they had lived with each other the summer before seventh year to be able to travel together and see the world. The three also managed to find time to take vacations with Dan and Emma, including several to Hermione's favorite beach on the French Riveria where Ginny readily adopted Hermione and Emma's style of sunbathing .

Throughout their lives, Harry and Hermione made a point of spending some time together nearly every day, and on those occasions when they were apart the two best friends would call each other every evening on their mirrors or cell phones to share the day's events. Once the children arrived, Harry spent most of his time at home, apparating to practices and taking portkeys to his matches. When they were old enough, Ginny's children delighted in coming with 'Aunt Hermione' to watch their father play, and when Hermione eventually had her own children they did the same.

After a satisfying quidditch career, during which he also played for England in four Quidditch World Cups, Harry accepted the position as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts when Remus retired. Hermione also joined the faculty as the Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor House.

-----

When Ginny graduated she was recruited to play quidditch for the Holyhead Harpies, the all women's team run by Gwenogg Jones. During her career, when she wasn't taking time out to have babies, she made the English World Cup team three times as an alternate, getting to play in several matches each time. When her quidditch career ended she also joined the faculty at Hogwarts, taking Madam Hooch's position as flight instructor. Ginny quickly became one of the most popular teachers in the school, with many of the younger boys developing a crush on the pretty, vivacious witch. Ginny's most popular innovation was the institution of an annual faculty-student quidditch match, held the day of the end of year dance. Of course, with Harry Potter as seeker and Ginny Weasley as chaser for the faculty team, the students never came close to winning, but the games were high-scoring, fun affairs every year.

-----

At Christmas of Ginny's last year at Hogwarts Harry gave her an engagement ring and the wedding plans began in earnest. They held the wedding the following summer at Harry's castle, which the house elves in residence decorated fabulously. It was the wizarding equivalent of the wedding of Charles and Diana. Of course Ron was the best man and Hermione was the maid of honor. They briefly considered having the entire elite DA as wedding attendants, but decided to scale it down. Ginny selected one bridesmaid from each house, Lavender, Luna, Susan, and Tracey. For the groomsmen Harry went with his Gryffindor dormmates and Justin, and Dobby acted as the ringbearer. The wedding was held in the great hall, with the reception in the ballroom, and later that evening Fred and George provided a spectacular fireworks display out in the courtyard.

Ginny continued playing quidditch, successfully combining that career with motherhood. In addition to Jamie and Lily, she later added Cedric to the growing Potter clan. Hermione was an immense help with the child-rearing as well, and Ginny was completely supportive of her when she decided she wanted children of her own. Her first attempt resulted in a son, Sirius, and eventually her daughter, Amelia, completed the family. And Harry had the large, loving family he had always dreamed of.

-----

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were each offered seats on the Wizengamot. Harry and Hermione accepted, but Ron wasn't all that interested and was able to get Bill to take his place. He had also considered Percy, but he was gradually working his way up the ranks of the Ministry on his way to being Minister of Magic and as such would have his own seat on the legislative body. In the wizard equivalent of the House of Lords, where the Potters and the Blacks both held hereditary seats, Harry took the Potter seat and once again stunned the wizarding world by transferring the Black seat to Hermione. Just as Sirius had done with him, he officially adopted Hermione's children and bequeathed to her and them the Black family inheritance. This then, became the ultimate irony for the noble and most ancient House of Black, whose motto on the family crest read _'Toujours pur'_ or 'Always Pure': to be represented by a muggleborn witch and her descendents.

-----

When McGonagall retired, Harry became headmaster and Hermione assistant headmistress, positions which they held for more than one hundred years. McGonagall had continued her efforts to reduce the rivalries between houses, and to upgrade the level of instruction, and as a result there were relatively few initiatives that Harry felt necessary to undertake as headmaster. Many of the changes that had been instituted during his seventh year had become popular traditions, such as the flexible seating at meals, and the four dances each year. By far the most significant alteration of the Hogwarts experience made by Headmaster Potter (and Assistant Headmistress Granger), after some spirited discussion with the rest of the staff, was the retiring of the Sorting Hat.

Neither Harry nor Hermione had ever been comfortable with the idea of being pigeonholed at the age of eleven, particularly since both of them had nearly been sorted into different houses. In place of the sorting, they created a new house solely for first years, where they would all live together, get to know each other, make friends, and adjust to life at Hogwarts without the competition of house points. At the end of their first year, after interviews with the heads of houses and a final interview with the Headmaster, students were assigned to houses for the remaining six years of their studies based both on their abilities and their preferences.

-----

Harry and Hermione's even more grand ideas for the reform of wizarding society didn't catch on immediately, but they continued to push for them at every opportunity, and their fame always guaranteed them at least a polite reception. The first changes that were made were the repeal of the anti-werewolf legislation and the laws and practices that were discriminatory against muggleborns. In many cases, people didn't realize how unfair some of them were, like the enforcement of the Restriction for Underage Magic, which mainly targeted muggleborns.

Relations with the goblins improved, and wizarding families began to look differently at house elves, but as more changes occurred, there was the inevitable backlash. The opposition gradually grew and it was led by the old-line pureblood families who had previously had the most political influence. They obviously didn't like ceding power to the mixed blood and muggleborns that were starting to make more strides in the business, social, and political arenas. It finally came to a head when Percy Weasley was elected Minister of Magic and began to push for sweeping anti-discrimination legislation for all sentient magical beings. By the end of his first term his re-election campaign became a referendum on this issue. And his opponent was Tracey Davis.

Tracey had been gradually building up her political power, and by this time had amassed enough 'information' on various Wizengamot members that she controlled a large block of votes. She was the ideal candidate for the opposition because she was young and not part of the old crowd, was a war hero with an Order of Merlin (unlike Percy) and was known to be a friend of Harry Potter. She was clever enough in her campaigning never to disparage her opponent or speak against the issue that was so dear to Harry's heart, but always used language like 'restoring old-fashioned values'. With the _Daily Prophet_ under Daphne's control and solidly supporting her, and with Harry refusing to endorse either of his friends over the other, the election went right down to the wire. Tracey won by the slimmest of margins.

But then, to the shock of the entire country, Tracey announced that she supported all of Percy's reforms and appointed him to be her second in command. She shifted the block of votes she controlled in favor of his legislation and it passed in a landslide. The opposition was in shambles, and by the time it recovered the damage was done. The purebloods would never be a significant factor again. For many years thereafter she and Percy alternated between the two top spots, and Britain became the most progressive country in Europe in the area of magical cooperation.

The stratagem that rocked wizarding society had been conceived and plotted out at the 25th year DA reunion in Jamaica. While the main players in the drama were Tracey, Daphne, Ernie and Harry, with Hermione being the primary architect of the legislation, everyone had played a part and helped plan the strategy. The group of friends faithfully continued to get together as they had promised, and the gathering grew as spouses and children were added to the mix. Of course Harry happily expanded the resort to accommodate them all. The band of students that changed the world eventually produced 42 children, a Minister of Magic, three Ministry department heads, four Wizengamot members, three professional quidditch players, owners of several successful businesses, and five Hogwarts professors. There was no doubt that they merited being considered the most successful group of students in Hogwarts history.

-----

Life didn't stay perfect forever. As they moved into middle age, which would ordinarily last for more than one hundred years, it became clear that there was something wrong with Ginny. Instead of aging like a witch, she aged more like a muggleborn woman. Eventually it was concluded that the possession by Tom Riddle had drained so much life force from her that her life span would only be half that of a normal witch. In the year that she and Harry celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary she resigned from her duties as flight instructor at Hogwarts, although she kept coming to quidditch matches as long as she could, and was able to see all of her grandchildren play. The nearness of Potter Place to the castle became useful yet again because as her health diminished Harry and Hermione could take turns staying with her. She died during the summer of her 80th year, and the youngest member of the elite DA became the first to pass on.

Harry's grief was nearly unbearable, as yet another loved one was taken from him prematurely. This time though, it was tempered by the fact that he did have more than fifty years of happiness with her, unlike his parents or Sirius. The memories of these blissful times with the fiery redhead who had captured his heart and brought so much joy to his life enabled him to get past the sorrow. Hermione also grieved for the loss of the woman who had been her sister in every way that counted. Ginny's loss drew the two of them even closer together, if that was possible, as they mutually comforted each other.

The family (besides the five children there were now quite a few grandchildren and even some great-grandchildren) took off for a month and secluded themselves in one of the remote Potter properties to mourn together. At the end of this period the five children got together and quickly came to an agreement. Regardless of whether Ginny or Hermione was their birth mother, each woman had loved them all, and they all regarded both women as their mothers. So it was that James, Lily, and Cedric Potter, with Sirius and Amelia Granger standing right behind them, told Harry and Hermione that they would have no problem if the two of them married now, and did not feel that it would diminish Ginny's memory in the slightest.

When Harry and Hermione heard this they hugged and thanked them, appreciating their thoughtfulness. But ultimately they decided to go on as they had been. Their souls were bonded, and no ceremony would change or enhance that. They were satisfied with what they had, and would spend the rest of their lives together.

-----

As it turned out, Harry and Hermione enjoyed even longer life spans than ordinary wizards and witches. Whether it had something to do with Gryffindor's ring and Hufflepuff's necklace and their magical link, or their own mental connection, or the fact that they were the most powerful witch and wizard of their generation no one knew. They finally retired from Hogwarts in 2165 after 150 years of teaching (yet another record, this time shared between the two) and spent the rest of their years traveling, and in Hermione's case writing. Hermione achieved the last of her lifelong dreams by being named editor of _Hogwarts, a History_ for their tenth centennial edition, published in the year 2176.

But there are disadvantages of a long life as well, and eventually all of their friends were gone. When the last of their children also passed away, they knew it was time to go. Dernhelm Castle was left in a trust for the permanent use of the house elves, and sanctuary for werewolves. Potter Place was given to Hogwarts to house visiting parents and to continue to serve as a learning experience for Muggle Studies students.

Decades before, Dobby had helped them locate the other secret chamber beneath Hogwarts, where Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw had transferred their magical essences to make the castle sentient. On October 31, 2181, 200 years after the attack on Godric's Hollow, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger went down to the chamber and gave up the last of their magic to Hogwarts, moving on to the next great adventure, as always, together.

-

**Finite**

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**Afterword**

**Some Final Acknowledgements** – The last paragraph of the epilogue is modeled after the ending of 'How Does It Feel?' by PK Fan. The skin diving with gillyweed scene was inspired by a similar scene in 'No Thanks' by Old Crow. I added the mermaid part. The underwater description of the coral reef is largely taken from 'Tom and Harry' by Old Crow, but since I wrote that scene for him in the first place it seemed reasonable to use it again.

I began writing Soul Searching at the end of July, 2005, so it has been almost exactly a year from start to finish. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would end up with a pair of stories that totaled nearly 300,000 words! I only expected Soul Searching to be a medium length story covering the summer after Book 6; I didn't decide to write End Game until I found out how much I was enjoying Soul Searching and didn't want to stop. I never considered myself any kind of writer before (my only previous large piece of work was my PhD thesis – trust me, you _don't_ want to read that!), so it is always a pleasant surprise when reviewers extol my writing abilities. It wasn't until after I wrote several chapters of Soul Searching and shared them with Old Crow, and he urged me to continue, that I got up the nerve to consider posting the story. I really owe him an enormous debt, since I never would have written anything without his encouragement.

I plan to continue writing, but I doubt that I will write another mega story like Soul Searching/End Game any time soon, if at all. I currently have ideas for four other stories of short to medium length, one of which is about half finished as of this writing. Check out my profile occasionally if you're interested in reading more of my stories.

There are also many short stories that could be written based on sections of the epilogue for this story. If any aspiring writers out there want to give it a try, feel free to take a shot at of them if you like. Be sure and let me know if you do. I got my feet wet in fanfiction by writing an epilogue to one of Old Crow's stories. He didn't use it, but his positive response led me to try a story of my own.

I have an almost irresistible urge to end this by saying 'So long and thanks for all the fish' but I hope to be writing to you again soon so I'll close with something less final.

Till later.

Chem Prof


	22. All Together Now

**Disclaimer and Acknowledgements**

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

**IMPORTANT – READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER**

For various reasons I have written three different endings to this story. You may choose to read the one you prefer or as many of them as you wish. I have posted them all simultaneously, as separate chapters. They are mostly the same (about 80 percent identical), but each has a different relationship ending. So if you can only tolerate Harry with Hermione, read the first ending. The second one will have Harry marrying Ginny. The third (this one) will be a combination. This way the H/Hr shippers (most of you I think) should be happy, the H/G shippers (primarily my kids) have what they want (mostly), and there's even a version for the H/Hr/G harem fans.

So, read the one you like and please don't complain about the other two just because you don't like the ships.

This ending is somewhat more explicit than the other two, but I believe it is still within the M rating. I consider it my 'Kinsfire/Udder PD style ending. ;-)

---------------

**Chapter 20c, All Together Now – Harry and Hermione and Ginny**

Ginny opened her eyes to find herself in a very unfamiliar situation. She wasn't in either her dorm room or the Hospital Wing. She wasn't in a bed. She was wearing someone else's clothing. Someone's arm was around her.

As her thoughts began to sort themselves out, some of these unusual observations resolved themselves. She recognized that she was in the common room of the Heads suite. She was lying on Harry and Hermione's sofa, although it was much larger than it should be. She was wearing only a large tee shirt and a pair of knickers. That wasn't so unusual – she often slept in such attire. But the tee shirt wasn't hers. And the person snuggled up behind her with his arm around her was Harry. All things considered, she thought, this was a very nice situation to wake up in.

The previous night after she had brought Hermione back here, the two girls had sat and talked about the dilemma they found themselves in, and decided it was time to resolve it. When Harry had returned they had literally picked him up and plopped him down on the sofa between them to hash things out. Ginny had begun by apologizing to Harry for the actions that had created the rift between them. She had admitted that those actions had been wrong and she should have known better. It had been a mistake for her to get that intimate in relationships that weren't very serious. The three of them agreed that she had found herself in a situation she couldn't handle, and then because of her poor self-image and her immaturity made decisions that were hard to reverse. She finished by telling Harry that what she regretted the most was the pain that her actions had caused him, and her realization of how much more painful it was when you hurt someone you loved.

For his part Harry apologized to her for reacting the way that he had, and for not talking to her about it to try to work things out. He noted that despite the image that their dating machinations of the previous term had given him, he was quite naive about relationships and had a difficult time dealing with the physical side of them. He admitted to her that he had started to realize that he had romantic feelings for Hermione as well as for Ginny long before that incident, and that it had been unfair to her to use it as an excuse to explore those feelings. Both of them forgave the other, and all three of them agreed that everyone was at fault to some extent.

But, Harry concluded, the bottom line was that he thought he was in love with both of them. And two months later he still didn't know what to do about it. At that point he had put an arm around each girl and they both snuggled up next to him, sitting there pondering their situation well into the night. Eventually they had decided to sleep on it, and Hermione had transfigured the sofa so that they could all stay snuggled up together. Hermione had given Ginny the tee shirt to sleep in, explaining that it was one of Harry's that she had borrowed last summer and never returned, and had remarked with a knowing smile that Ginny would probably find it as comforting to sleep in as she had.

As she was reviewing these events, Ginny's attention was brought back to the present when Harry's hand moved up on her chest. During the night the tee shirt had ridden up past her waist and his hand was touching bare skin. She smiled to herself as she remembered her mum's reaction when Hermione had bought her the nice pairs of knickers for her birthday, assuming that the whole point was to show Harry. Well, as soon as he woke up he was certainly going to get an eyeful of this pair. Those thoughts suddenly vanished when Harry's hand came to rest up against her right breast.

Ginny's heart started pounding. Was he awake? Did he know what he was doing to her? She shuddered as a jolt of pleasure went through her when his thumb began to move back and forth, tracing the curve of the lower part of her breast. Hermione had been right again. The feeling was so much better when it was someone you loved. She moved her hand to cover his, and she felt him shift. He was definitely awake, she decided, and she could feel his excitement as his hips pressed up against her lacy red knickers, even through the shorts he was wearing. She had been waiting for this moment for months. This was her chance to take their relationship to the more physical level she had wanted two months ago. She covered his hand with her own, not to keep it from going farther but to keep him from removing it if he changed his mind.

She gave his hand a little squeeze and he took the hint as his fingers began exploring further. She felt a jolt go right down to her core, and she responded by wiggling her hips and grinding her pelvis back against him.

"No, not this time," he whispered in her ear. She reluctantly stopped her wiggling, but another thrill shot through her at the 'this time' part of his directive. Her heart was pounding now and it was all she could do to lie still as his fingers continued their ministrations. She closed her eyes and just let the feeling wash over her, and was aware of pressure building up inside her. Both nipples had hardened under his teasing and each stroke sent another tingle through her. He was trailing little kisses along the back of her neck and she couldn't help the little moan that escaped when he reached a sensitive spot below her ear. Her breath had started coming in gasps when it hit – a wave of pleasure flowed out from her center all the way to her toes and fingers and her whole body shuddered as she let out an involuntary cry. _He was hers!_

He loved her. She loved him.

But he also loved Hermione.

She had been watching him closely the past week. She had seen the way he looked at Hermione and talked about her. She finally understood and now fully experienced what Hermione had been talking about that night last summer after the wedding. _If you truly loved someone, you wanted what was best for him, even if it didn't include you._ What was best for Harry? They had to find out. Still catching her breath, she rolled over to face him.

---

Harry's pulse began racing as he became aware of where his hand was. This was the heart of his dilemma. He loved both girls but he felt a level of excitement with Ginny that he hadn't really felt with Hermione, or at least permitted himself to feel. He found himself reacting to Ginny's body pressed up against his own, and his hand responded almost automatically as his thumb began to trace the curve of her breast. This had never happened during any of the times he had shared a bed with Hermione.

Even when he kissed Hermione, the feelings he had could be described as sweet, comfortable, contented. Definitely pleasurable. But only a few times had it been passionate like it used to be when he kissed Ginny. Dan had told him that the exciting, pit of the stomach feeling would come and go. But it seemed to come a lot more often with Ginny than with Hermione.

He could feel her growing excitement as his hands explored her delightful breasts. He was fascinated by his ability to bring her nipples erect with only a few strokes, and cause her to moan with a few little kisses in the right spot. Even though he had never done this before, he could tell he was clearly doing it right, and when her body shuddered and she cried out softly he almost lost it himself. As he felt her body relax he pulled her to himself, cupping her breasts tenderly as if they were they were a precious treasure. They were. She was. All he could think about was how much he wanted this girl. He loved her. She loved him.

But what about Hermione?

Harry was amazed when Ginny broke contact and rolled to face him. He was astonished at what she said.

"Roll over."

"Huh?"

"You should do this with Hermione."

""What?"

"The two of you need to figure out what you really want."

With eyes wide Harry watched as Ginny pulled away and sat up, then rose from the transfigured sofa. She walked over to Hermione's room and paused, turning back before she disappeared inside. "Go ahead."

Puzzled, Harry rolled over to face Hermione and found her awake and gazing back at him. Green eyes locked with brown eyes as their minds met.

'Ginny said …' 

'_I heard.'_

---

Hermione had been aware of the movement next to her, and guessed what was happening. Ginny was finally getting what she wanted. Was this it then? Would Harry get back together with her? Should she leave and give them some privacy? Should she stay and make her own play for him? She and Harry had agreed to hold off on any intimate contact until things sorted themselves out. Was it too late now? Did she even want a more physical relationship with him?

Ginny's little cry told her that the younger girl had just had a very satisfying experience. _Now what?_ Sooner than she expected, Ginny broke her contact with Harry and turned to speak with him, then got up and left the room. Then Harry turned to her and their eyes locked.

'Ginny said …' 

'_I heard.'_

Hermione was wearing her usual sleepwear – a camisole top and pajama bottoms. Harry reached out his hand and slipped it under the bottom of her loose top, resting it on her waist. Slowly, he began to move it up, never breaking eye contact. Their eyes continued to probe each other as a hundred messages passed between them. He paused when his index finger reached the beginning of the swell of one of her breasts, and his thumb entered the valley between them. This was the bright shining line that they had agreed not to cross. At least not until now. Now, he found his pulse racing again, every bit as fast as it had been moments ago. And from where his hand rested, he could feel her heart doing the same, even as their minds could detect each other's growing excitement. He silently asked the question.

'_Yes.'_

The feeling was indescribable as he moved his hand up, touching her intimately for the first time. Her body quivered as the sensation traveled all the way through her, causing a tingling to begin down inside her. Through their mind link this feeling passed to him where it met and reinforced the thrill that he was feeling. Her hand found his bare chest and mirrored what his was doing to her, sending another wave of pleasure pulsing through him. Their lips came together and battled, each trying to devour the other. All the while the passion built up in each of them and through their minds each sensed the feelings in the other, as they joined in a kind of mental feedback loop. This time neither of them held back.

The pressure reached an unbearable level when Harry's fingers closed around Hermione's hardened nipple and she responded with a loud moan. This reaction sent Harry over the edge and his lower body spasmed uncontrollably in release. When this surge of feeling hit Hermione her back arched, sending her hips into his as her own sensations began to wash over her.

_Hermione!  
Harry!_

They each repeated the other's name several more times as the waves continued and gradually subsided. Finally their heart rates settled down and their breathing slowed enough that normal speech once again became possible.

"Wow!"

"Yeah!"

Harry smiled and raised his eyebrows at this unaccustomed lack of eloquence from Hermione. She giggled in response, then teased, "Someone needs a cleaning charm."

-----

Ginny emerged from Hermione's room to find her two best friends locked in an embrace. She struggled to bring her emotions under control and squared her shoulders, preparing for the worst.

"I guess that's it then?" she asked, in a trembling voice. "It's Hermione, isn't it?"

To her surprise, Harry turned to her, giving her a longing look that made her knees go weak. Then he turned back and locked eyes with Hermione briefly, before dropping his head and staring at the floor, his hands twisting indecisively in his lap.

"Why do I have to choose?" The question came in a voice so low the two girls had to strain to hear it. While Ginny could only stand there dumbfounded, a thoughtful expression appeared briefly on Hermione's face. Then the older girl stood and took Ginny's unresisting hand and pulled her back through the door into her bedroom.

"Give us a minute, Harry."

Harry didn't look up, wondering if he had just made a horrible mess of things. Were the two girls he loved going to make the decision for him? Did he want them to? As he pondered this dilemma without making any more progress toward a solution he heard the girls come back into the room. He looked up to see them both standing there with nervous smiles. What happened next he would remember for the rest of his life.

With a salacious gleam in her eye Hermione reached for the edge of her camisole top and pulled it off over her head. After that she shrugged off the pajama bottoms so that she was clad only in a tiny aqua colored pair of knickers. As Harry's jaw dropped to his chest she turned to Ginny and nodded. Ginny likewise gave him a knowing look and pulled her tee shirt off, leaving herself clad only in her lacy red knickers. Harry again was stunned as he took in the sight before him. He tore his eyes away from Ginny and turned back to Hermione. She walked slowly over to him, giving him plenty of opportunity to look, and sat down next to him on the sofa. Harry's stare returned to Ginny, as if checking to see if she was still there, then he closed his eyes tightly and opened them again. As Ginny started forward his eyes darted back and forth between the two girls and he began to mutter to himself.

"Don't wake up. Don't wake up. Don't wake up." He was interrupted in his self-admonishment as Ginny seated herself on his lap and began to pull his shirt off.

"Why Harry Potter, have you been dreaming about this?" Harry nodded, having temporarily lost the capacity for speech when she sat on his lap. "What happens in the dream, Harry?" she purred in a low voice that made him shudder.

"I always wake up before anything happens," he gulped.

Ginny shook her head as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, bringing them into intimate contact. "Not this time." She sealed her assurance by capturing his lips in a searing kiss. Harry's mind went blank temporarily as he lost himself in the feeling. Before he completely regained his senses he felt her get up, only to have the Hermione take her place. As she wiggled slightly to get herself into position, his hands automatically went to her hips. The next thing he knew he was the recipient of another equally mind-blowing kiss. Just before his brain shut down again one last thought registered itself as his hands firmed up their grip on the bum of the young witch in his lap. _Hermione's wearing a thong._

---------------

A/N That's all you're going to get for now. If you want more, use your imagination. Perhaps something like one of the scenes in Ruskbyte's 'Alternate Sleeping Arrangements' (but you would need to exchange the roles of Hermione and Ginny). Just remember, in my story Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all feel that sex should wait until marriage. But that doesn't mean that they can't enjoy other stimulating activities together.

---------------

Harry was lying on the still transfigured sofa floating on a cloud of bliss. He was completely naked, but somehow that seemed perfectly appropriate. He couldn't remember exactly how he lost his shorts, but it did seem that they had been in the way. On one side of him was Hermione, lying on her stomach, clad only in the tiny aqua thong. He was turned toward her and his fingers were tracing the outline of the brief garment on her bum, while Hermione was making contented purring noises. On his other side was Ginny, wearing only the red lacy knickers. She was pressed up against him from behind, her arm reaching around him, and her hand was doing very distracting things to his chest. Ginny pulled herself up to look over his shoulder, giving him a thrill as her breasts brushed against his back.

"Hermione, you look great in that," the redhead announced. "We have _got_ to get some pairs for me the next time we go shopping." The part of Harry's brain that was still functioning agreed wholeheartedly with this idea. Then Ginny turned serious. "So, how are we going to make this work?" Harry's hand stopped its ministrations, which caused Hermione to turn her head toward them and frown. She reached back and guided Harry's hand to return to its task, then responded.

"I'll figure something out."

---------------

**Ten Years Later**

"… and he took his sword and CUT off the bad wizard's head."

"Cool!"

"Yech!"

Harry smiled at his two children who had been listening attentively to the bedtime story. He ruffled the dark, messy hair of the boy who was grinning happily at the ending of the story, but the little girl had a disgusted look on her face. Then she looked up at him worriedly, her brown eyes boring deeply into his. _Just like her mother,_ he thought contentedly. "Daddy, is the bad wizard gone now?"

"Yes, sweetie, he's all gone. Everything's fine. Go to sleep now."

"Night, Daddy," the two voices chorused.

"Good night, Jamie. Good night, Lily," Harry said as he gave each of them a hug and gave Lily a kiss (knowing that Jamie considered himself to be too big for a kiss).

He sat in the darkness for a long time just looking at the two of them, reveling as he did every night in the feelings that he had been denied growing up. He had a family. He had a real home. Life was just about perfect. Eventually he got up and went into his bedroom, took off his clothes, and crawled into bed, snuggling up to his wife from behind. As he did every night, he appreciated the decision they had made long ago that nightgowns and pajamas were completely unnecessary articles of clothing.

"So, how did you kill him this time?" came a soft voice from the figure curled up in front of him.

"Cut off his head with a sword." Harry responded as his left arm wrapped around her, his hand stroking her swelling belly briefly before coming to rest on her breast, cupping it tenderly.

"Yech!" came the reply, bringing a smile to his face. "Not the sort of thing a pregnant woman wants to hear, you know."

"Funny, that's the same reaction Lily had," Harry replied teasingly, while entwining the fingers of his other hand in her hair. He loved the sensation, and knew that she did too. "Minus the pregnant part, of course."

"Mmm," came the response. "Keep that up and you're forgiven. Throw in a backrub and I'll love you forever."

Harry's hands lovingly massaged her upper back and shoulders, which were all that he could reach in this position, for a while before returning to their original places. He could tell that she was almost asleep now.

"I love you Harry," came the sleepy voice.

"I love you too, Ginny," he returned, hugging her to himself. _Yep, life was just about perfect._

As he lay there he felt another presence come into the room and smiled. Soon another body crawled into the bed behind him and he felt her bare skin pressing up against his back as an arm snaked around his waist and a soft hand began to caress his chest.

"Goodnight Hermione," mumbled Ginny, not quite asleep yet. "Make sure he gives you a back rub first." Harry grinned. She and Hermione had long ago become hooked on Harry's massages, and each always looked out for the other, taking every opportunity to remind him of his 'duty'.

Hermione reached out her hand and stroked Ginny's shoulder for a few seconds before returning to Harry's chest. "Goodnight, Ginny," she returned softly.

Harry waited a bit until Ginny's steady breathing indicated that she was asleep, enjoying the feelings Hermione was generating with her stroking of his chest.

'_Finish your book?'_ he inquired of Hermione through their mental link.

'_Mm hmm,'_ came the simple reply as her hand began to get more adventurous.

'_Learn any fascinating new charms?'_

'_It wasn't that kind of book.'_ Her hand moved lower and Harry stiffened in response. Realizing her intentions now, he rolled over to face her. As he did, she rolled away, and behind him Ginny rolled over as well. It was an interesting sleeping pattern they had evolved over the years. They all three slept on their sides, always facing in the same direction. Whenever any one of them rolled over, the other two automatically followed suit. And each one always instinctively kept at least one body part in contact with another. Thus, the king sized bed was plenty large for the three of them, since they stayed so close together while asleep. This time, Ginny's hand came to rest on Harry's shoulder.

Hermione reached back and guided Harry into her. Apparently that romance novel, or whatever it was she had been reading, had her more than ready for him. _'I suppose you're looking to start another baby too?'_ he teased.

'_Oh no. After last time Ginny and I agreed that we were only going to have one at a time. Having two babies in the house at the same time was insane. We'll wait a few years for my next one.'_ Harry knew all this, since the three of them had discussed it thoroughly, but it was fun to tease her. He jumped as she tightened her pelvic muscles. When the two witches had been pregnant the last time, they had attended childbirth classes together. The instructor had taught them an exercise to strengthen their pelvic muscles, and had added that it also would do wonders for their sex lives. They had insisted on demonstrating it on Harry (Hermione had explained in her typical authoritative manner that muscles developed far better when exercised against resistance) and took every opportunity to practice it on him thereafter. The result was that Harry was sore for months and he was certain that by the time of their deliveries his two wives must have had the strongest pelvic muscles in Britain.

'_Don't forget your other wife's instructions,'_ Hermione reminded him smugly as she gave him another squeeze. Harry gasped and began to massage her neck and shoulders, working his way down her back as she continued to do her part to keep his interest up. Finally she let him know he was finished with the back rub by moving his hands to her breasts. She moaned as he teased her nipples with his fingers and they opened their minds to each other to share the other's sensations during their lovemaking.

'_I love you Harry.'_

'_I love you too, Hermione.' _

_No, _Harry amended his earlier thought, _life wasn't just about perfect. It was absolutely perfect._

-

**The End (Except for the Epilogue)**

---------------

A/N These endings were conceived months ago, before I even started writing End Game. For lack of a better description, I'm calling this a movie style ending, where the couple finally gets together at the end and then there's a jump forward in time to a final scene where they're married and living happily ever after. While it seems abrupt, remember that the main emphasis of this story has always been the relationship between Harry and Hermione.

When I began writing Soul Searching I had planned to have the story end up with Harry and Ginny married, and with Hermione living with them as a _very_ close friend. But the H/Hr shipper in me (and the insistence of my beta reviewers) kept calling me to put Harry and Hermione together. Later on I came up with the combination idea. Thus the alternate endings. The challenge was to write the story in such a way that each of the endings is at least plausible. My Harry-Hermione bias probably made the first ending the most likely, but I hope I've at least created the possibility of the other endings. I'm sure all my readers will let me know how well I did and/or which endings they liked best.

A problem with this 'jump forward' type of ending is that it is rather unsatisfactory for readers who want to know more details about what happened to everyone else, as well as a bit more about the main characters. So I've also written a long epilogue, which should tie up all the loose ends. The epilogue is nearly identical for all three endings, except of course for the Harry/Hermione/Ginny parts. There is no new information in any one of the three epilogues compared to the others, so each of these endings can be read as a stand-alone finale.

Finally, I've decided to attach the epilogue to this concluding chapter, so you don't have to wait another week to read it. Enjoy!

---------------

**Epilogue – aka, The Rest of the Story**

After the final battle the family members of the most prominent Death Eaters such as Narcissa Malfoy were arrested and tried, with many being sentenced to terms in Azkeban. The loss of so many pureblood families created a power vacuum that was eventually filled by families like the Davis's, Greengrass's, and Zabini's, who had remained neutral during the war.

The Death Eaters that had been captured were tried, and most, like Bellatrix Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov, were executed. Severus Snape was a special case. The only person he had killed was Albus Dumbledore. That alone would have been enough for a death sentence, but he claimed that it was all part of a secret plan known only to him and the Headmaster. Harry testified that Dumbledore was very weak from the potion he had ingested that night, but still very much alive, and that his only instructions were for Harry to take him to Snape. He further noted with indignation that his assumption was that Snape was going to heal the Headmaster, not kill him, and that anyone who thought that Dumbledore would have sacrificed his life to maintain Snape's cover as a spy was insane.

After a long deliberation, the jury sentenced Snape to life imprisonment in Azkeban. There was some macabre speculation among the students on what Snape experienced when confronted with a Dementor. Some thought it was Neville Longbottom blowing up cauldrons. Others suggested it was Hermione Granger answering question after question correctly and Snape being forced to give points to Gryffindor. They finally concluded that it was probably Harry Potter receiving an Order of Merlin. In any case, Severus Snape's stay in Azkeban was not a long one and he died the way he had lived, a lonely, bitter man filled with hate.

-----

Following the awards ceremony, the Hogwarts population was completely baffled regarding Harry's love life. He appeared to be equally close to Hermione and Ginny. While there continued to be no overt public displays of affection, he commonly held hands with and hugged both witches in relatively equal amounts. As had been previously announced, he escorted Hermione to the belated Valentine's Dance, but he took Ginny to the end of year dance. And at each dance, he divided his time evenly between the two of them.

As expected, Harry, Ron, and Ginny's team won the Quidditch Cup that spring, the third for each of them. The following year Ginny would go on to win her fourth, tying her brother Charlie's record.

Charlie survived the attack by Nagini, but never recovered the use of his arm. This ended his career as a dragon handler so he agreed to stay on at Hogwarts to continue helping out in Care of Magical Creatures. After a long talk with McGonagall about teaching, Hagrid admitted that he wasn't that comfortable as a professor and agreed to return to being gamekeeper, and Charlie accepted the teaching position full time. Hagrid, however, was always enthusiastic about making suggestions regarding 'interesting' creatures that could be brought in to show the classes.

Percy was welcomed back to the Weasley family after his long estrangement. It took Molly quite some time to calm herself down after hugging everyone in sight upon his return to the Burrow, particularly when he announced his engagement to Penelope Clearwater on the same visit. His younger brothers, who had been ready to hex him to oblivion the year before, had a lot more respect for him after they discovered the difficult role he had been required to play. The stressful situation had also managed to humanize him a bit more, as he had plenty of time to ponder his mistakes and realize how important his family was to him.

Bill continued on at Gringott's main headquarters, benefiting from his close association with Harry. He would eventually rise to become the equivalent of a vice president, the highest post ever held by a human at the goblin-owned bank, and he became instrumental in the effort to improve wizard-goblin relations. The arrival of Fleur's baby that summer put Molly Weasley over the top with happiness, her recovery from the stress of the war complete. When Bill and Fleur named her Janelle in honor of Hermione's alter ego, Molly got the message and finally accepted the muggleborn witch's inescapable role in Harry's life.

Neville never regained consciousness, and finally succumbed to his injuries two weeks after the battle. Harry made sure that there was another memorial ceremony just for him, where he was posthumously awarded his Order of Merlin, 2nd class, and his name was added to the monument outside of Hogsmeade, right above Moody's name.

To no one's surprise, Hermione finished at the top of the class in all of her subjects, and scored straight O's in all of her NEWTs, including those for which she had studied independently. She ended up with a total of nine – Ancient Runes, Arithmency, Charms, Defense, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration. Harry finished second to her in Transfiguration and third behind her and Padma in Charms, but didn't take enough courses to be included in the official class ranking. At Hermione's insistence he took the NEWT for Muggle Studies in addition to those in Charms, Defense, and Transfiguration, receiving an E and three O's.

Their actual scores on the NEWTs set several records. Harry received the highest NEWT score for Defense Against the Dark Arts in history. After he achieved a perfect score on the written portion of the exam Professor Tofty, the Ministry examiner giving the NEWT, was so impressed by Harry that he refused to even test him on the practical, awarding him full marks plus 100 bonus points. He reasoned that if producing a patronus was worth one bonus point on an OWL, destroying Lord Voldemort was worth 100 on a NEWT. If not for Harry, Hermione would have had the highest Defense NEWT score in history. During her practical, the examiner foolishly decided to see if he could come up with a dark spell that she didn't know the counter to, and gave her a bonus point for every one she could block. He finally gave up thirty minutes and fifty bonus points later. Needless to say, Harry's record of 300 points on a 200 point exam (not to mention Hermione's mark of 250) was never broken.

Hermione also set the records for the highest scores in Transfiguration and Charms of the century, eclipsing McGonagall's mark set fifty-five years previously in Transfiguration, and Lily Evans's twenty year old Charms record. Albus Dumbledore's marks in those two subjects, set the previous century, remained as the highest overall. As a group, the Defense scores of the class of 1998 were the highest ever at Hogwarts, breaking the record previously set by the class of 1978. This also surprised no one, since more than half of the class were members of the elite DA, and the rest of them were in the advanced group of the regular DA. Ron finished with the third highest Defense score of the year, with a mark that would have been at the top of the class in most any other year.

-----

After graduation Harry treated the elite DA members to a weeklong vacation at one of the properties that the Potter estate owned in Jamaica in an expression of his gratitude for everything they had done. It was a secluded resort on the west coast with a dozen small cottages and included a pool and a private beach. Dean was still in a wheelchair so he and Lavender stuck to the pool. In general the rest of the group spent their time on the beach, leaving the couple to have the pool to themselves most days. Dean and Lavender assured the others that this was just fine, and they were glad to have the private time together.

The first thing Hermione did was take the girls into the nearby resort village of Negril to introduce them to the concept of the string bikini. Initially the witches, especially the purebloods, expressed their disbelief that women would permit themselves to be seen in public in garments that were even more revealing than underwear. But they all eventually summoned the courage to try the miniscule swim costumes after seeing Ginny and Hermione in them. A buying frenzy ensued, ending with each of the witches owning at least two. Lavender's pregnancy was starting to show now, but she bravely went along with the rest, which revealed her condition to the DA members who didn't already know. All the girls were excited for her, squealing as they examined her swelling abdomen and chattering about what it was like, how she was feeling, and so forth. For their parts the boys hung back as if she were contagious and looked at Dean as though he had just received a prison sentence, but upon seeing that he was as thrilled about it as Lavender was, they gradually loosened up.

Once the girls got more used to their new swimwear, and began eyeing the other sunbathers on the beach in Negril, Tracey dared Daphne to go even further and wear a thong like the ones that several of the muggle women were sporting. Daphne quickly shot back that she would wear one if Hermione did. Hermione, who had on the magical swimsuit that she had bought in Florida, immediately took the challenge and transformed it into a thong on the spot. As Tracey gave Daphne a triumphant smirk, the gorgeous blonde shrugged in defeat, reminded herself again never to underestimate Hermione Granger, and changed into a thong. To no one's surprise Lavender also took up the challenge, but to everyone's surprise Luna did as well. (Although, in retrospect, they realized that nothing Luna did should surprise them.) Not to be outdone by her two best friends, Ginny also agreed to wear one, but only when Harry was around, and when Ron was _not_. The other five witches decided that the regular string bikinis were revealing enough for them. Either way, there was a group of very appreciative wizards in Jamaica that week.

One morning Lavender, who frequently had to get up early to use the loo, spotted Harry, Ginny, and Hermione out at the pool swimming laps, and was amazed to see Hermione and Ginny swimming topless. While Ginny initially moved to cover up, not yet being completely accustomed to that level of exposure, Hermione unabashedly explained to Lavender how much she enjoyed the feeling of swimming and sunning unencumbered in that fashion and encouraged her to try it. She added that some muggle women sunned topless during pregnancy because they thought it helped toughen their breasts for nursing a baby. When Dean later beheld the results of this discussion when he and Lavender were out at the pool by themselves, it reaffirmed his belief that Hermione Granger was the smartest witch in the world.

Hermione being Hermione, she couldn't pass up the chance to learn something about wizards in other countries, so some of the group spent an afternoon visiting the local wizard community. They learned that in Jamaica, the wizards mingled freely with the nonmagical people, posing as members of a local sect called Rastafarians. The dreadlocks worn by these wizards reminded Harry of Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan. Other than that excursion, Harry and Hermione spent all their time sunning on the beach and diving on the reef. Remembering their experience in the Florida Keys, Harry had brought along a large supply of gillyweed for everyone to use in their underwater exploring, and showed them how to use it.

One day when the three of them were skin diving together the two girls decided to reward Harry with a little something different. Hermione, like Viktor Krum had during the second task, performed a partial transfiguration on herself and Ginny, but with much more attractive results than a shark's head. Harry suddenly found himself swimming with two beautiful mermaids. Hermione's wild untamed hair flowed around her like a lion's mane, and with her flowing red hair and petite figure Ginny looked just like the title character of the Disney movie, but without the sea shell top that was necessary for the movie's G rating. (A/N – Take a look at the statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark to see what a mermaid ought to look like. Hey, it's their story.) The sight of the two girls took Harry's breath away – or would have if he hadn't eaten gillyweed.

Harry sent Hermione a mental query asking if she was going to give him a tail also, but she returned smugly that she and Ginny preferred him with his legs and bum intact, particularly with the brief swimsuit he was wearing. Deciding to show his gratitude for the girls' efforts, Harry transformed his suit into a thong for the duration of the dive, much to their delight.

For the next hour the three of them glided through the coral canyons, chasing colorful fish in and out of the gently waving purple sea fans and multicolored soft corals. Groups of blue and yellow striped french grunts hovered beneath the sea fans, eyeing them warily. Small damselfish darted in and out of the honeycombed rock, challenging them. A multicolored parrotfish gnawed noisily on a coral outcropping and a large school of midnight blue tangs swept by. A pair of four-eyed butterflies moved along just out of reach, never separating for more than a moment before rejoining. Down under a ledge, a lobster waved its antennae menacingly at them.

Over and over Harry found his attention drawn to the lovely creatures swimming along beside him, and they likewise had a hard time taking their eyes off of him as well. Every so often they caught each other looking and smiled. By the time the hour was up Harry decided that it had been as close to paradise on earth as he could possibly get. Although the three of them didn't repeat the experience that week, they vowed that they and their family would return to this spot again and again throughout their lives. Hermione and Ginny had one more treat for Harry before they left the island, though, when the three of them snuck away to Bloody Bay, a clothing optional beach just north of Negril's main beach, for some nude sunbathing early one morning before anyone else was about.

During the course of the week the group of students strengthened the ties that would last them for a lifetime. In years to come this would turn out to be one of the most accomplished classes in Hogwarts history, and they all knew that the experiences that they had shared that year had forged unbreakable bonds. While some of them would achieve success in business, some in government, some in sports, and some in academia, they would all be there for each other when needed. Before they returned they all vowed to stay close to each other, and decided that they would get together again like this every five years.

-----

Upon their return, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to share a house in Hogsmeade while they worked out what they were going to do with the rest of their lives. They enjoyed living in the wizarding village, and often had friends stop by to visit during the summer. Of course, the most common visitor was Ginny, although for propriety's sake Molly insisted that she officially live at the Burrow until she was married. After some discussion with Ginny and Hermione, Harry decided to build a permanent residence in that town, splitting their time between there and Potter Mansion. Harry purchased the Shrieking Shack and they built a large sprawling house on the property, with lots of rooms for guests, and the newly named Potter Place became a place for their friends to stay when visiting Hogwarts.

As they were moving their possessions from the house on Turnbull Court to their new house in Hogsmeade, Hermione had the idea, which Harry enthusiastically agreed with, to make Potter Place a mixed muggle and magical house. With the installation of solar panels on the roof and a small windmill that they built in the hills above Hogsmeade they were able to generate enough electricity to power their entertainment system, a computer, and other small appliances. Ginny was much more thrilled with the muggle features than Ron. Whereas he had been unable to cope with muggle living the previous summer, she embraced it enthusiastically. For her it was an important part of Harry's and Hermione's lives, and another way for her to be able to know and understand them better.

When Ted and Andromeda Tonks saw it they immediately asked if they could bring their Muggle Studies classes for a visit. This turned into an important component of the Muggle Studies curriculum and hundreds of students would benefit over the years by being able to visit the house and see how muggles lived.

The three of them also decided to keep the tunnel that had connected the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow and in later years would often use it for easy access to the castle. It turned out to be particularly handy during Ginny's final year at Hogwarts, as she, and occasionally the other two, utilized it for after hours visiting. Needless to say, Ginny found Harry's invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map to be very helpful that school year. They did put a sealed portal at the end of the tunnel under the tree. Even though, as the years went by, from time to time there were students clever enough to figure out how to sneak down past the Whomping Willow into the tunnel, it was safe to say that none of them would ever break Harry and Hermione's locking charms on the portal.

After the summer ended Ron moved out and found his own place. He was beginning to reap the rewards of his fame, not the least of which was his attractiveness to the opposite sex. Without two housemates, especially his female best friend who didn't always approve of his choices in women, he was better able to enjoy the opportunities that passed his way.

-----

During their last year at Hogwarts, Ginny and Luna shared the Head Girl position, with Colin Creevey becoming Head Boy. When asked why she had broken tradition by naming two head girls, McGonagall pointed out that no previous Hogwarts headmaster had ever had an Order of Merlin recipient available when it came time to select head students, much less three, and she wasn't about to snub any of them.

-----

Once they decided to settle in Hogsmeade, Harry realized that he could help rebuild the town by bringing in some of his friends and aiding them in establishing businesses. The first couple he set up was Dean and Lavender. During his years in Gryffindor Tower Harry had been impressed by Dean's artistic ability and while they were in Jamaica he and Hermione had spent some time by the pool talking with Dean and Lavender about their future. They found that Dean wanted to become a painter so when they returned they offered them the funds to start up a portrait business in Hogsmeade.

Although Dean and Lavender were initially reluctant to accept such a handout, a conversation with Fred and George convinced them that Harry was sincere about investing in his friends. Seeing the twins' success was pretty convincing too. A year later, Harry also helped Colin open a photography shop next door to Dean's portrait studio and the two businesses complemented each other nicely, with a significant portion of Dean's paintings being based on pictures that Colin had taken.

Lavender became a writer for the _Daily Prophet_, specializing in fashion and gossip, although she was always careful to be as accurate as possible. When their son was born in the fall, she and Dean wanted to name him after Harry, but he tried to talk them out of the idea. The fact that nearly half of the boys born in the wizarding world that year were named Harry also helped persuade them. And so it was that in September, 2010 James Harold (Jim) Thomas became the first child of any of the elite DA, the heroes of the war against Voldemort, to enter Hogwarts.

With Harry's assistance Parvati and Padma opened a clothing boutique in Hogsmeade, featuring a mixture of muggle and wizard fashions. Due to the great experience everyone had enjoyed at the Halloween dance, they found an eager customer base of Hogwarts students, and eventually they became successful enough to open a second shop in Diagon Alley. The twins worked well together, with Parvati focusing on sales and Padma keeping the books. When Flitwick retired Padma took over his positions as Charms professor and Head of Ravenclaw House.

Harry also helped to rebuild Diagon Alley by persuading the Gringotts goblins to grant interest free loans to merchants to help them reopen the shops that had been closed. Ragnok realized that far from being a money loser, this move was an investment that would pay off many times over in good will and improved goblin-wizard relations. One of the first establishments to reopen was Olivander's wand shop, and his first item of business was to create a custom made wand for Harry using the final feather Fawkes had given.

-----

Harry gave Grimmauld Place to Remus and Tonks as a wedding present. With their help SPEW (Hermione agreed to drop the embarrassing acronym) became a house elf employment agency providing work for the free house elves who had joined the fight against Voldemort. It was managed by Remus and Ted Tonks and provided a nice income to supplement their Hogwarts salaries. Many wizarding families who had never owned house elves of their own were now able to hire them on a temporary basis for weddings and other special occasions. The ranks of free house elves gradually grew with the addition of the mistreated elves of the executed Death Eaters. When not working, the elves all lived in and maintained Dernhelm Castle. They fixed up the dungeons in the castle, which had housed Death Eater prisoners, making them into comfortable, but secure cells that were then offered free of charge to any werewolf who needed a place to stay during the full moon. With time, and as new generations of wizards and witches were raised being exposed to the radical viewpoints of Harry and Hermione, the status of house elves would inevitably change.

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Seamus Finnegan was hired by Fred and George and returned to Ireland, where he opened the first overseas branch of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. As the company continued to grow, more stores opened and Seamus ended up overseeing their entire Irish division. The twins also expanded into France, starting a store near Beauxbaton's run by one of Fleur's cousins. After Viktor assured them that Durmstrang students also had a sense of humor, they got together with a friend of his to set up a shop in Germany. Despite Molly's urging, the twins never married, and played the role of fun-loving bachelor uncles to several generations of Weasley offspring.

As everyone expected, Ernie Macmillan went into politics, joining the Ministry of Magic. In time he became the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation where he was instrumental in helping advance Harry and Hermione's efforts to overcome class, cultural, and racial barriers in wizarding relations. He married his longtime friend Hannah Abbott and their oldest daughter became the second child of the former elite DA members to enter Hogwarts, in the fall of 2011.

Their fellow Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchly went on to get a degree at a muggle university, then replaced Ted and Andromeda Tonks as Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts and became Head of Hufflepuff House. The fourth Hufflepuff of the group, Susan Bones, followed her Aunt Amelia's footsteps and joined the Aurors, like her eventually rising to become the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Tracey Davis also went into politics, not as an employee of the Ministry of Magic, but operating behind the scenes much as Lucius Malfoy had done. Her ability to gather and use information, especially embarrassing information that gave her leverage over other politicians, slowly expanded her influence until she became one of the major power brokers in the government.

Daphne Greengrass and Ron went their separate ways after graduation. It was an amicable breakup, as they mutually agreed that they wanted different things in a long-term relationship. Daphne went through four different husbands in quick succession, accumulating more wealth and influence with each one. Her final marriage was to the publisher of the _Daily Prophet_, and by the age of thirty she was in control of the most influential wizard newspaper in the country. Daphne and Lavender, who rose through the ranks of the paper to become her personal assistant, were able to curb the flagrant lies and other excesses that had characterized the newspaper in the past, and make it into a hard-hitting but responsible publication. Daphne also used this public platform to support her best friend Tracey's political ambitions, and the two of them combined to become a formidable force in wizarding Britain, striking terror in the hearts of corrupt politicians.

Tracey never married, and when Daphne's fourth and final marriage ended with her in sole control of the _Daily Prophet_, the two former roommates moved in together and stayed together for the rest of their lives. While there were always suspicions of just how far their relationship went, they were always discreet and they both had too much power (and had demonstrated a willingness to use it for retribution) for anyone to dare make an issue of it in public. Although Harry didn't always approve of their actions and methods, he always considered them to be his friends and maintained a mutual respect with the Slytherin witches.

With Harry and Viktor's encouragement, Ron entered the quidditch development league, and after several years honing his skills he achieved his lifelong dream and signed with the Chudley Cannons as reserve keeper. After a satisfying career with the Canons he retired and joined the Department of Magical Games and Sports, soon becoming the head of that department, which brought the total of Ministry of Magic department heads for the class of '98 to three.

Ron continued his search for the girl of his dreams, and as one of the most famous heroes of the war had an unlimited number of willing candidates. But it wasn't until four years after graduation that he discovered her, or more accurately rediscovered her. For their fifth anniversary Bill and Fleur invited both of their families to celebrate with them at a villa in the south of France, and there Ron found her. Fleur's sister Gabrielle had just graduated from Beauxbatons, and while the 13 year old Gabrielle had captured Ron's attention at the wedding, when he met the 18 year old version he was totally smitten. She was everything he was looking for, a combination of breathtaking beauty with her long blonde hair and knockout figure, intelligence, loyalty, spirit of adventure, and a wicked sense of humor. By the end of the year they were engaged.

When Ron's brothers tried to tease him about the age difference, the sharp-witted Gabrielle quickly put them in their places by reminding them that Bill and Fleur were even farther apart in age. With a saucy wink at Ron she went on to declare that girls in her family were obviously attracted to mature men, which clearly didn't include Fred and George. After the laughter died down the family conceded that she was definitely deserving of becoming a Weasley. When Ron brought her to the first five-year DA reunion, the part veela was an immediate hit with the boys, but the girls eventually accepted her as well after she made it clear that Ron was the only guy for her. It also didn't hurt that she was equally comfortable discussing fashion with Lavender and Parvati, charms with Hermione and Padma, and politics with Daphne and Tracey.

-----

After taking the summer off for a well-deserved break, and spending time with her parents, Hermione continued her education for several years. She earned a mastery in both Transfiguration and Charms, and continued to help develop the Muggle Studies curriculum at Hogwarts, which due to Harry's and her influence quickly spread to wizarding schools in other countries. She also took some classes at St. Mungo's to further develop her healing skills. But the first thing she did that fall was to return to the muggle university where they had sought out help in destroying the horcruxes to take a chemistry class. There she was astonished to discover that the friendly chem prof she had glimpsed only briefly on her visit the year before was actually the father of Laura, one of the muggleborn students at Hogwarts. That explained, she decided, why Laura was so good at Potions. The girl had been a natural at the difficult subject.

He told her that he had thought he recognized her at the orientation session in Diagon Alley before the previous school year, but since she hadn't said anything he didn't either. During the laboratory sessions of the chemistry course, where they had time to talk one on one, she discovered that they had several interests in common. They both enjoyed science fiction, particularly the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, and he and his wife were very familiar with the area of Jamaica that she had just visited two months previously. The laboratory portion of the class was definitely her favorite part and by the end of the course she concluded that some of the things she learned there had potential applications in Potions.

Viktor persuaded Harry to join him and Troy in forming a touring all star quidditch team. They attended the quidditch world cup matches as spectators the first summer after Harry's graduation (having been given complimentary seats in the top box, of course), where Viktor and Troy formulated the idea and pitched it so some of their fellow quidditch stars. They were easily able to attract talented quidditch players from around the world and traveled across Britain and the rest of Europe playing exhibitions against local teams. Harry and Viktor took turns playing seeker, with whichever one wasn't playing acting as the coach. They had more bookings than they could handle, as they were a guaranteed sellout wherever they played. Eventually they discovered that they could also sell tickets to their practices, to which fans would flock to see the two most famous seekers in the world play against each other.

Viktor continued his courtship of Luna. In the year of Voldemort's defeat Harry and Viktor moved up to numbers one and two on the Witch Weekly list of most eligible bachelors, but it would be the last appearance for either of them. By the following summer Harry was married and Viktor had announced his engagement, to the dismay of hopeful witches throughout Europe. After graduation Luna joined her father at the Quibbler, eventually taking over the paper. Although she moved the paper toward more of a balance of stories, vigorously supporting Harry and Hermione's positions on goblin relations and elf rights, it still breathlessly reported all the latest sightings of fantastical creatures and announced the occasional bizarre conspiracy theory. She never lost the ability to bring the conversation to a halt with an off the wall observation. And Viktor loved her for it. She was the perfect counterpoint to his overly serious nature and he wouldn't have her any other way.

-----

As had been the case for every quidditch match he ever played, the cheering crowds at Harry's matches always included one Hermione Granger. Hermione accompanied Harry (and Ginny, when her own schedule permitted) to every city he visited, fulfilling the dream he had shared with her when they had lived with each other the summer before seventh year to be able to travel together and see the world. The three also managed to find time to take vacations with Dan and Emma, including several to Hermione's favorite beach on the French Riveria where Ginny readily adopted Hermione and Emma's style of sunbathing . Once the children arrived, Harry spent most of his time at home, apparating to practices and taking portkeys to his matches. When they were old enough, the children delighted in coming with their mothers to watch their father play.

Harry and Hermione continued to be inseparable, and on those occasions when they were apart they would call each other every evening on their mirrors or cell phones to share the day's events. Even more than before, Ginny became part of all of their activities, and a new trio was born, with one Weasley replacing another. Before she went back for her seventh year at Hogwarts, they got Ginny a mirror of her own, so they could continue to include her in the evening conversations. Soon they became a true threesome, and within it each pair developed their own special bond.

After a satisfying quidditch career, during which he also played for England in four Quidditch World Cups, Harry accepted the position as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts when Remus retired. Hermione also joined the faculty as the Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor House.

When Ginny graduated she was recruited to play quidditch for the Holyhead Harpies, the all women's team run by Gwenogg Jones. During her career, when she wasn't taking time out to have babies, she made the English World Cup team three times as an alternate, getting to play in several matches each time. When her quidditch career ended she also joined the faculty at Hogwarts, taking Madam Hooch's position as flight instructor.

Ginny quickly became one of the most popular teachers in the school, with many of the younger boys developing a crush on the pretty, vivacious witch. Ginny's most popular innovation was the institution of an annual faculty-student quidditch match, held the day of the end of year dance. Of course, with Harry Potter as seeker and Ginny Weasley as chaser for the faculty team, the students never came close to winning, but the games were high-scoring, fun affairs every year.

-----

The weddings the summer following Ginny's graduation were a complicated matter. They agreed to have separate ceremonies, a muggle one for Hermione and a wizard one for Ginny. Hermione had done her usual thorough job of researching wizarding marriage laws, and found that even though the practice of a wizard taking multiple wives had died out several hundred years previously, there were still provisions for it on the books. Harry easily met the financial requirements, and his being heir to both the Potter and Black families solved the inheritance issues.

Once they found out what their children (they already regarded Harry as their son) were planning, Dan and Emma informed them that they would support their decision. Harry and Hermione were astonished to learn that her parents had already discussed the possibility during their Christmas holiday in Florida. The Weasleys were another matter entirely. Ron thought Harry was mental for considering it. He reckoned that either of the girls alone would be tough to live with, but that the two of them together would drive him nutters. He had become smart enough to make sure neither Hermione nor Ginny ever heard him say this, however. Fred and George thought it was brilliant. Fleur's veela heritage made her more willing to accept unusual romantic arrangements, and was able to persuade Bill to announce his support for the threesome.

Percy was just happy to be back in the good graces of his family, so for once kept his mouth shut. Charlie was not happy with it, but his close brush with death had given him a more live and let live attitude. Molly, of course, was the big problem. But Ginny put her foot down and informed her mother that anyone who knew Harry and Hermione could see that the two of them would always be together, and that she was more than happy that Harry loved her enough to include her. She was going to do this whether Molly approved or not. Arthur ended the discussion by announcing that he _would_ be attending Harry and Ginny's wedding and _would_ be giving the couple his blessing and if Molly wanted to alienate her daughter, her son-in-law, and her future grandchildren it was her choice. By the time the engagements were announced Molly had come around.

They also carefully managed the release of the news. At first, only Ron knew what they had decided. On Ginny's birthday, when she was officially of age, they informed the family. The rest of the world had to wait until Christmas time, when each witch received an engagement ring. The next day's _Daily Prophet_ headline broke the story.

_**Hero of the Wizarding World to Take Two Wives**_

Rita Skeeter again wrote a favorable story in return for the scoop, describing matter-of-factly how Order of Merlin, 1st Class winner Harry Potter was using an ancient marriage law to wed his fellow Order of Merlin winners and longtime friends Hermione Granger and Ginevra Weasley. The January 1st issue of Witch Weekly devoted it's entire content to stories on the threesome, again with a positive or at least neutral spin.

The muggle wedding was at Dan and Emma's church, where Hermione had grown up and still knew many of the parishioners. Ginny was the maid of honor and Ron was the best man, but it was a struggle to keep him acting 'muggle like' throughout the ceremony and reception. The attendees were mostly friends of Hermione's parents, but a few of their muggleborn or mixed blood friends were able to be there as well. The Tonks were there, along with Remus who had a wistful look as he recalled a similar wedding of his best friend. Justin and Susan came together, and Dean brought Lavender, who also struggled with the muggle customs. The Creevey's attended, of course, as well as Laura, Carolyn, and Kristin and their families. Colin took lots of pictures so they could share the day with their other friends. Harold and Rose Evans were able to attend and stand in for Harry's parents during the part of the ceremony where they, along with Dan and Emma, gave the new couple their blessing. That part brought Harry to tears, and his emotions sent Hermione over the edge as well.

They held the wizard wedding at Harry's castle, which the house elves in residence decorated fabulously. It was the wizarding equivalent of the wedding of Charles and Diana. Once again Ron was the best man, and this time it was Hermione's turn as the maid of honor. They briefly considered having the entire elite DA as wedding attendants, but decided to scale it down. They briefly considered having the entire elite DA as wedding attendants, but decided to scale it down. Ginny selected one bridesmaid from each house, Lavender, Luna, Susan, and Tracey. For the groomsmen Harry went with his Gryffindor dormmates and Justin, and Dobby acted as the ringbearer. The wedding was held in the great hall, with the reception in the ballroom, and later that evening Fred and George provided a spectacular fireworks display out in the courtyard.

After the weddings Hermione kept her maiden name, which later avoided the confusion of having three Professor Potters. While this wasn't unheard of in the wizarding world, it generally occurred when a pureblood witch married a muggleborn wizard and wished to preserve her social standing. It had never happened the other way around, but being unique had long since ceased being an issue with Harry and Hermione. At social events she was perfectly agreeable to being introduced as Hermione Granger Potter, and her children were all Potters, but she would always be known as Hermione Granger. It didn't really matter as far as being recognized as Harry's wife, since the names Harry Potter and Hermione Granger would forever be linked in the public's mind.

Ginny continued playing quidditch, successfully combining that career with motherhood. She, of course, became Ginny Potter, having dreamed of having that name since she was a little girl. When it came time to think about children, they were all in agreement that they wanted a large family. Hermione had been an only child, and had always wanted siblings. And as far she was concerned Harry had been an only child in more than one sense. At least she had loving parents. Ginny's only stipulation was that they have more than one daughter, having always wished for a sister while growing up in a house full of boys. And so after Jamie and Lily came Sirius, and then later on Cedric and finally Amelia. And Harry had the large, loving family he had always dreamed of.

-----

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were each offered seats on the Wizengamot. Harry and Hermione accepted, but Ron wasn't all that interested and was able to get Bill to take his place. He had also considered Percy, but he was gradually working his way up the ranks of the Ministry on his way to being Minister of Magic and as such would have his own seat on the legislative body. In the wizard equivalent of the House of Lords, where the Potters and the Blacks both held hereditary seats, Harry took the Potter seat and Hermione the Black seat. Harry arranged the legal documents so that Ginny's children received the Potter inheritances and Hermione's children received the Black inheritances. This then, became the ultimate irony for the noble and most ancient House of Black, whose motto on the family crest read _'Toujours pur'_ or 'Always Pure': to be represented by a muggleborn witch and her descendents.

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When McGonagall retired, Harry became headmaster and Hermione assistant headmistress, positions which they held for more than one hundred years. McGonagall had continued her efforts to reduce the rivalries between houses, and to upgrade the level of instruction, and as a result there were relatively few initiatives that Harry felt necessary to undertake as headmaster. Many of the changes that had been instituted during his seventh year had become popular traditions, such as the flexible seating at meals, and the four dances each year. By far the most significant alteration of the Hogwarts experience made by Headmaster Potter (and Assistant Headmistress Granger), after some spirited discussion with the rest of the staff, was the retiring of the Sorting Hat.

Neither Harry nor Hermione had ever been comfortable with the idea of being pigeonholed at the age of eleven, particularly since both of them had nearly been sorted into different houses. In place of the sorting, they created a new house solely for first years, where they would all live together, get to know each other, make friends, and adjust to life at Hogwarts without the competition of house points. At the end of their first year, after interviews with the heads of houses and a final interview with the Headmaster, students were assigned to houses for the remaining six years of their studies based both on their abilities and their preferences.

-----

Harry and Hermione's ideas for the reform of wizarding society didn't catch on immediately, but they continued to push for them at every opportunity, and their fame always guaranteed them at least a polite reception. The first changes that were made were the repeal of the anti-werewolf legislation and the laws and practices that were discriminatory against muggleborns. In many cases, people didn't realize how unfair some of them were, like the enforcement of the Restriction for Underage Magic, which mainly targeted muggleborns.

Relations with the goblins improved, and wizarding families began to look differently at house elves, but as more changes occurred, there was the inevitable backlash. The opposition gradually grew and it was led by the old-line pureblood families who had previously had the most political influence. They obviously didn't like ceding power to the mixed blood and muggleborns that were starting to make more strides in the business, social, and political arenas. It finally came to a head when Percy Weasley was elected Minister of Magic and began to push for sweeping anti-discrimination legislation for all sentient magical beings. By the end of his first term his re-election campaign became a referendum on this issue. And his opponent was Tracey Davis.

Tracey had been gradually building up her political power, and by this time had amassed enough 'information' on various Wizengamot members that she controlled a large block of votes. She was the ideal candidate for the opposition because she was young and not part of the old crowd, was a war hero with an Order of Merlin (unlike Percy) and was known to be a friend of Harry Potter. She was clever enough in her campaigning never to disparage her opponent or speak against the issue that was so dear to Harry's heart, but always used language like 'restoring old-fashioned values'. With the _Daily Prophet_ under Daphne's control and solidly supporting her, and with Harry refusing to endorse either of his friends over the other, the election went right down to the wire. Tracey won by the slimmest of margins.

But then, to the shock of the entire country, Tracey announced that she supported all of Percy's reforms and appointed him to be her second in command. She shifted the block of votes she controlled in favor of his legislation and it passed in a landslide. The opposition was in shambles, and by the time it recovered the damage was done. The purebloods would never be a significant factor again. For many years thereafter she and Percy alternated between the two top spots, and Britain became the most progressive country in Europe in the area of magical cooperation.

The stratagem that rocked wizarding society had been conceived and plotted out at the 25th year DA reunion in Jamaica. While the main players in the drama were Tracey, Daphne, Ernie and Harry, with Hermione being the primary architect of the legislation, everyone had played a part and helped plan the strategy. The group of friends faithfully continued to get together as they had promised, and the gathering grew as spouses and children were added to the mix. Of course Harry happily expanded the resort to accommodate them all. The band of students that changed the world eventually produced 42 children, a Minister of Magic, three Ministry department heads, four Wizengamot members, three professional quidditch players, owners of several successful businesses, and five Hogwarts professors. There was no doubt that they merited being considered the most successful group of students in Hogwarts history.

-----

Life didn't stay perfect forever. As they moved into middle age, which would ordinarily last for more than one hundred years, it became clear that there was something wrong with Ginny. Instead of aging like a witch, she aged more like a muggleborn woman. Eventually it was concluded that the possession by Tom Riddle had drained so much life force from her that her life span would only be half that of a normal witch. In the year that she and Harry celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary she resigned from her duties as flight instructor at Hogwarts, although she kept coming to quidditch matches as long as she could, and was able to see all of her grandchildren play. The nearness of Potter Place to the castle became useful yet again because as her health diminished Harry and Hermione could take turns staying with her. She died during the summer of her 80th year, and the youngest member of the elite DA became the first to pass on.

Harry's grief was nearly unbearable, as yet another loved one was taken from him prematurely. This time though, it was tempered by the fact that he did have more than fifty years of happiness with her, unlike his parents or Sirius. The memories of these blissful times with the fiery redhead who had captured his heart and brought so much joy to his life enabled him to get past the sorrow. Hermione also grieved for the loss of the woman who had been closer than a sister to her. Ginny's loss drew the two of them even closer together, if that was possible, as they mutually comforted each other. They and their family (besides the five children there were now quite a few grandchildren and even some great-grandchildren) took off for a month and secluded themselves in one of the remote Potter properties to mourn together.

-----

By contrast, Harry and Hermione enjoyed longer life spans than ordinary wizards and witches. Whether it had something to do with Gryffindor's ring and Hufflepuff's necklace and their magical link, or their own mental connection, or the fact that they were the most powerful witch and wizard of their generation no one knew. They finally retired from Hogwarts in 2165 after 150 years of teaching (yet another record, this time shared between the two) and spent the rest of their years traveling, and in Hermione's case writing. Hermione achieved the last of her lifelong dreams by being named editor of _Hogwarts, a History_ for their tenth centennial edition, published in the year 2176.

But there are disadvantages of a long life as well, and eventually all of their friends were gone. When the last of their children also passed away, they knew it was time to go. Dernhelm Castle was left in a trust for the permanent use of the house elves, and sanctuary for werewolves. Potter Place was given to Hogwarts to house visiting parents and to continue to serve as a learning experience for Muggle Studies students.

Decades before, Dobby had helped them locate the other secret chamber beneath Hogwarts, where Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw had transferred their magical essences to make the castle sentient. On October 31, 2181, 200 years after the attack on Godric's Hollow, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger went down to the chamber and gave up the last of their magic to Hogwarts, moving on to the next great adventure, as always, together.

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**Finite**

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**Afterword**

**Some Final Acknowledgements** – The last paragraph of the epilogue is modeled after the ending of 'How Does It Feel?' by PK Fan. The skin diving with gillyweed scene was inspired by a similar scene in 'No Thanks' by Old Crow. I added the mermaid part. The underwater description of the coral reef is largely taken from 'Tom and Harry' by Old Crow, but since I wrote that scene for him in the first place it seemed reasonable to use it again.

I began writing Soul Searching at the end of July, 2005, so it has been almost exactly a year from start to finish. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would end up with a pair of stories that totaled nearly 300,000 words! I only expected Soul Searching to be a medium length story covering the summer after Book 6; I didn't decide to write End Game until I found out how much I was enjoying Soul Searching and didn't want to stop. I never considered myself any kind of writer before (my only previous large piece of work was my PhD thesis – trust me, you _don't_ want to read that!), so it is always a pleasant surprise when reviewers extol my writing abilities. It wasn't until after I wrote several chapters of Soul Searching and shared them with Old Crow, and he urged me to continue, that I got up the nerve to consider posting the story. I really owe him an enormous debt, since I never would have written anything without his encouragement.

I plan to continue writing, but I doubt that I will write another mega story like Soul Searching/End Game any time soon, if at all. I currently have ideas for four other stories of short to medium length, one of which is about half finished as of this writing. Check out my profile occasionally if you're interested in reading more of my stories.

There are also many short stories that could be written based on sections of the epilogue for this story. If any aspiring writers out there want to give it a try, feel free to take a shot at of them if you like. Be sure and let me know if you do. I got my feet wet in fanfiction by writing an epilogue to one of Old Crow's stories. He didn't use it, but his positive response led me to try a story of my own.

I have an almost irresistible urge to end this by saying 'So long and thanks for all the fish' but I hope to be writing to you again soon so I'll close with something less final.

Till later.

Chem Prof


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